BV2560  .H3  1901  | 

Hamilton,  J.  Taylor . 
History  of  the  missions  of  the  Moravian  c 
during  Ihe  ei^leenih  and  nineleenlh  cent 


A   HISTORY 


-;<vsrcFnSj^ 


^^O^LAl  S.-.A-i:^ 


OF    I  UK 


MISSIONS 


OK    IHK 


Moravian  Church, 


DURING   THE    EIGHTEENTH    AND    NINETEEN  I  H 

CENirKIKS. 


J.  TAVLUR    HAMILTON. 

Frokkssor  of  Church  History  in  the  Moravian  THKoi.ot;icAi.  Sfminarv, 
AND  Vice  President  of  the  Society  for  Propacatini;  the  G<»sikl 

AMONG  THE   IIkMHKN.  HeTHI  EHK.M.  I'\ 


BETH  I  EH KM,  FA 

TiMBS    PVSLISHINC   CoMfANV.    !>llll«Tm»<l 


copvRumr. 
1901, 
By  J.   J'Avi.oR  Hamii,t(): 


Essentially  a  reprint  of  poru<'ii>  <'i  im.  iiir.i..i>  of  the  Mora 
vian  Church  published  by  the  author  in  the  year  1900,  the 
account  of  the  missionary  labors  which  constitute  a  chief  raison 
d'  ctre  for  its  separate  denominational  existence  is  herewith 
issued  in  separate  form  in  the  belief  that  thus  the  needs  of  a 
wider  public  desirous  of  some  insig^ht  into  the  details  of  Mora- 
vian missionary  activity  may  be  met.  A  brief  sketch  of  the 
history  of  the  church  has  been  prefixed,  and  supplementary 
chapters  setting  forth  the  essentials  of  Moravian  missionary 
aims  and  methods  and  characteristics  of  administration  have 
been  appended. 

By  formal  resolution  the  Directors  of  the  Society  for  Propa- 
gating the  Gospel,  on  January  8.  1901.  took  cognizance  of  the 
purpose  of  the  author,  and  desired  the  inrnrpor.Ttinn  of  the  fol- 
lowing minute  in  his  preface  : 

"Whereas,  the  Rev.  J.  Taylor  llainiii"ii,  v  ic<-  1  ivM(irnt  of 
this  society,  and  a  member  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Mora- 
vian Church,  North,  is  publishing  a  History  of  the  Missions  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  therefore  be  it  resolved,  that  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  The  Sooitty  for  Propagating  the  ( "mspel  among 
the  Heathen  welcomes  this  publication  with  deepest  satisfac- 
tion, and  desires  herewith  to  express  its  cordial  endorsement  of 
the  same."  The  Board  likewise  placed  at  his  disposal  the  illus- 
trations which  embellish  the  volume.  For  the  maps  thanks  are 
<lue  to  the  officials  of  the  agency  for  Moravian  Missions  in 
London,  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Klesel.  Secrctarv.  and  Mr.  1.  !'.  Pemsel. 
Manager. 

Bethlehem.  I'ennsvlvania.  januarv  hj,  I(^)i 


TABU-:  OF  CONTICN  IS. 

PAGt. 

INTRODUCTORY.— The  Moravian  ChurLh.  a  Historical  .Sketch.  ix 

CHAPTER  I. -The  First  Decade.  X'  t  ¥>»"     , 

CHAPTER   II.— The    Missions   on    the    North    \inr-,  ,11  Continent 

prior  to  1760.  .  ^ijt^  *yjjL.J-^^l*4^^\r.  ?y  -.^^  .  ^3  7  ^"T*  iv 
CHAPTER  MI.— Missionary  Undertakings  durinjj  the  latter  Pan  of 

the  Zinzcndorfian  Era,  *^«.  .     '       .     .  •  ^J/         .  /'/'•'.  I2 

CHAPTER   IV.— The    Establishment    of  the    Mission    in  .Labrador. 

1764-1776.       i^SLJp.ti^'iV^''  -^^  ,  43 

CHAPTER  v.— The  Indian  Mission  from  the    I'ontiar  War  to  the 

Removal  to  Canada.  .     4X 

CHAPTER  VI.— The  Missions  to  the  Heathen  in  the  Period  preccd- 
i"' and  immediately  after  their  Jubilee.   (?  t<    .'"j  I   ' '.'     .     %     '       .  5;-* 

!  iAPTER  VII.— The  Renewal  of  the  Mission  in  Cape  Colony.  1792.     70  / 
^^        CHAPTER  VIII —The  Indian  Mission  at  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth 

and  during  the  opening  Years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  ..'^^  .  ._  .  *j..    ;< 

CHAl'TER   IX.— The    Foreign    Missions,  from  their  jubilee  to  the 
Synod  of  1818. 

CHAPTER  X.     The  Indian  Mission,  from  J»2o  i..  i.  ,,. 

^       CHAPTER  XI. -The  Foreign  Missions,  from  1818  to  1836.- 

CHAPTER  XII.  -The  Missions,  from  1836  to  1857.  .11. 

CHAPTER   XIII.- The  Three  New  Mission  Fields  entered  between  "* 

the   Years    1848  and   1857— the  Moskito  Coast.  Australia  and  Centra. 

Asia.  ,  .  I'V     ' 

CHAPTER  XIV.— The  Foreign  Missions,  from  1857  to  1869.  .   136     ' 

CHAPTER  XV. — The  Foreign  Missions,  from  1869  to  1879.  154 

CHAPTER  XVI —The  Foreign  Missions,  from  1879  to  1889.  .  173 

CHAPTER  XVII.- The  Founding  of  the  Mission  in  Alaska.       .  iSr 

CHAPTER   XVIII. — The  Foundint:  of  the  Mission  in  (icrnian  East 

Africa.  ....  .  194      - 

CHAPTER   Xl.X.  — A  Brief  Suney  (^t  mr   iicui  tiunng    the  closing 
Years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.         .....         200 

CHAPTER  XX.— The  Aim  and  Methtxls  of  Moravian  Missions.        .  209 
CHAPTER  XXI.— The  Administrative  I*oliiy  of  Moravian  Missions.  215 
CHAPTER  X.XII.-  The      Financial      Managcmer.t      of      Moran.in 
Missions.  .  .         2ic 

INDEX.  .  .22^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Herrnhut,  ..... 

A  Greenlander  in  his  Kayak. 

Eskimo  Women  of  Labrador  (Christians), 

Zeisberger  Preaching  to  the  Indians, 

Moravian  Mission-quarters  in  Paramaribo, 

Fairfield,  Jamaica, 

Mission  House  at  Shiioh, 

Mission  House  and  Church  in  St.  Thomas, 

Blackfellows  of  Australia, 

Ebenezer,  Australia,  . 

Kyelang,   ..... 

Karata,  .... 

Goedverwacht,      .... 

Young  Eskimos  of  Alaska  (Christians), 

Travel  in  German  East  Africa,    . 

Home  for  Lepers,  Jerusalem, 


fac 


Frontispiece, 
ng  page     i i 

43 
51 
••  69 
"  103 
"  III 
"  117 
"  133 
"  149 
"  153 
"  177 
'•  183 
"  193 
197 

207 


MAPS. 

Map  of  the  World,  showing  the  Stations  of  the  Moravian  Misssions 
(Section  I).         ......  . 

Map  of  the  World,  showing  the  Stations  of  the  Moravian  Missions 
(Section  H), . 

West  India  Islands  and  Central  America,  showing  the  Stations  of 
the  Moravian  Missions,  ..... 


129 


209 


INTRODUCTORY. 


THK    MORAVIAN    CHURCH.    A    HISTORICAL    SKETCH. 

.-Mthoujjli  the  true  name  of  the  church  whose  missionary 
activities  are  set  forth  in  the  following  pages  is  The  Unitas 
Fratruni  or  The  Unity  of  the  Brethren,  it  is  generally  known  as 
T!io  Moravian  Church,  because  it  was  thus  designated  in  the 
act  of  Parliament  in  1749.  whereby  it  won  public  recognition 
as  a  venerable  Protestant  and  Episcopalian  body.  In  this 
document  and  in  the  negotiations  preliminary  to  the  favorable 
action  of  the  British  legislature,  the  term  Moravian  was  appar- 
entlv  employed  from  the  fact  that  during  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  Moravia  constituted  one  of  its  chief  seats,  and 
because  religious  refugees  from  that  country  were  mainly 
instrumental  in  its  resuscitation  in  Saxony  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  after  it  had  been  well-nigh  crushed  during  the  Coun- 
ter-reformation. With  justice  it  might  however  be  designated 
1  he  Church  of  the  Bohemian-Moravian  Brethren,  for  it  origi- 
nated in  Bohemia  rather  than  in  Moravia. 

These  twin  lands  were  won  to  Christianity  about  the  middle 
of  the  ninth  century,  chiefly  through  the  labors  of  Cyril  and 
Methodius,  illustrious  missionaries  of  the  Greek  Church,  who 
translated  the  Bible  into  the  vernacular  and  introduced  a 
national  ritual.  In  the  strife  between  West  and  East,  thanks 
especially  to  the  increasing  importance  and  continual  ad- 
vance of  the  "Holy  Roman  Empire."  Bohemia  and  Moravia 
gradually  fell  under  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  Rome. 
Nevertheless  intermittent  protests  against  Roman  Catholic 
usages  and  spiritual  tyranny  characterized  the  church  in  these 
lands  from  earliest  times  up  to  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth 
centurv.  The  opposition  culminated  in  the  Bohemian  Reforma- 
tion of  which  John  Hus.  born  in  136(7  and  martyred  at  Con- 
stance in  141 5.  was  the  distinguished  leader.  At  length  tlic 
Bohemians  were  driven  to  armed  revolt.  .After  the  awful  hor- 
rors of  the  Hussite  wars,  which  closed  with  the  battle  of  Lipan 
in  1434.  a  number  of  the  more  spiritual  mintled  of  the  remnant 
of  the  Hussite  party  experienced  a  deep  revulsion  of  feeling,  and 


X  INTRODUCTORY. 

determined  to  live  in  literal  accordance  with  the  requirements 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  For  this  purpose  they  withdrew 
in  1457  to  the  estate  of  Lititz,  about  one  hundred  miles  east  of 
Prague,  near  the  Silesian  border.  Four  principles  were 
adopted  by  them  as  the  basis  of  their  union :  first,  the  Bible  is 
the  only  source  of  Christian  doctrine ;  second,  public  worship 
is  to  be  administered  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  on  the  model  of  the  Apostolic  Church ;  third, 
the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be  received  in  faith,  to  be  doctrinally 
defined  in  the  language  of  the  Bible,  and  every  human  explana- 
tion of  that  language  is  to  be  avoided;  and  fourth,  godly  Chris- 
tian life  is  essential  as  an  evidence  of  saving  faith,  and  is  of 
greater  importance  than  the  dogmatic  formulation  of  creed  in 
all  details  and  in  a  manner  which  binds  consciences. 

Lititz  soon  became  the  rallying-point  for  awakened  persons 
throughout  Bohemia  and  Moravia  in  such  numbers  that  the 
new  church  rapidly  increased.  Its  first  ministers  were  priests 
ordained  in  the  Calixtine,  or  National  Church,  from  which  the 
Brethren  had  seceded.  In  1467,  however,  they  introduced  a 
ministry  of  their  own  and  secured  the  episcopacy  from  Bishop 
Stephen  of  the  Austrian  Waldenses. 

Both  the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  National  Church  perse- 
cuted the  Brethren  with  fire  and  sword.  The  first  persecution 
broke  out  in  1461  ;  the  second  in  1468;  the  third  in  1508.  By 
edict  of  King  LHadislaus  they  and  their  organization  were  to 
be  stamped  out  of  existence.  But  here  and  there  friendly 
nobles,  in  accordance  with  their  feudal  rights  and  by  the  terms 
of  the  Bohemian  constitution,  were  able  to  extend  protection, 
and  the  bishops  and  ministers  of  the  Brethren  braved  torture 
and  death  to  encourage  their  people  to  fidelity.  Public  wor- 
ship was  maintained  and  synods  were  convened  at  night  in  the 
solitude  of  forests  around  fires  and  under  the  starry  canopy 
of  heaven,  sentries  keeping  watch  at  the  avenues  of  approach. 
The  death  of  the  king  and  of  their  chief  persecutors  brought 
a  providential  respite  in  15 16. 

Now,  on  the  eve  of  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  Bohemian-Moravian  Brethren  constituted  an  evan- 
gelical church  numbering  at  least  two  hundred  thousand  mem- 
bers, counting  over  four  hundred  parishes,  using  a  hymn-book 
and  a  catechism  of  its  own,  proclaiming  its  doctrines  in  a  con- 
fession of  faith,  employing  two  printing-presses,  and  scattering 


INTRODUCTORY.  X" 

liohcmian  Bibles  broadcast  through  the  land.  In  the  course 
of  time,  a  friendly  correspondence  was  opened  with  the  Re- 
formers both  in  Germany  and  in  Switzerland. 

The  fourth  persecution,  which  broke  out  in  1547,  an  indirect 
ronscciuencc  of  t!ie  Snialcald  War.  led  to  the  spread  of  tlie 
Brethren's  Church  to  Poland,  whither  refugees  fled  and  where 
it  grew  so  rapidly  that,  in  1557,  its  Polish  parishes  were  organ- 
ized into  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  province.  Hence  the  Unitas 
Fratrum  now  embraced  three  such  federated  divisions,  the 
Bohemian,  the  Moravian  and  the  Polish,  and  increased  more 
than  ever  in  numbers  and  in  influence,  founding  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries,  translating  the  Bible  from  the  original 
into  r.ohemian.  and  sending  forth  many  other  important  works. 
Religious  liberty  having  been  proclaimed  in  Bohemia  and 
Moravia  in  1609,  it  at  last  became  a  legally  acknowledged  and 
important  church  of  these  lands. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  however,  when 
the  Bohemian  Protestants  had  been  defeated  in  the  battle  of 
the  White  Mountain,  in  1620,  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  II 
inaugurated  his  Counter-reformation,  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  crushing  evangelical  religion  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia.  This 
end  was  accomplished  in  1627  by  a  resort  to  fiendishly  inge- 
nious and  brutally  cruel  measures,  Jesuits  and  Spanish  dragoons 
being  his  chief  instruments.  Thousands  perished.  Thousands 
were  imprisoned.  Thousands  went  into  exile,  as  when  the 
Huguenots  fled  from  France.  Bohemia  and  Moravia  were  in 
great  measure  depopulated,  and  have  never  since  recovered 
their  intellectual  and  economic  standing.  At  the  close  of  the 
war,  moreover,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  Peace  of  West- 
phalia, 1624  was  taken  as  the  normal  year  for  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  thus  the  evangelicals  were  left  with- 
out redress  in  the  lands  of  the  House  of  Austria.  Only  a  hid- 
den seed  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  remained  in  Bohemia 
and  Moravia;  the  majority  of  its  members,  as  well  as  the  Luth- 
erans and  Reformed,  had  been  driven  into  exile. 

The  Polish  Province  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum  now  acquired 
special  importance.  Here  a  new  center  of  activity  was  estab- 
lished at  Lissa.  .\  number  of  parishes  were  also  founded  in 
Hungary;  yet  the  Brethren  hoped  and  prayed  for  a  return  to 
their  native  land.  In  1656  Lissa  was  sacked  and  burned  in  a 
war  which  broke  out  between  Poland  and  Sweden.     The  eccle- 


XU  INTRODUCTORY. 

siastical  center  of  the  church  having  thus  been  destroyed,  its 
parishes  were  gradually  absorbed  by  other  Protestant  bodies. 
Its  hidden  seed  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  however,  remained, 
and  its  illustrious  bishop,  Amos  Comenius,  in  prophetical  anti- 
cipation of  its  resuscitation  republished  its  history,  confession, 
and  discipline,  commended  its  future  members  to  the  care  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  took  steps  to  perpetuate  its  epis- 
I  copate.  Hence,  for  a  period  of  fifty  years,  clergymen  who  at 
the  same  time  served  parishes  of  the  Reformed  Church  were 
consecrated  bishops  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  that  the  succession 
might  not  die  out. 

In  1707  George  Jaeschke,  an  aged  patriarch  of  Moravia, 
descended  from  the  Brethren,  and  one  of  those  who  had  secretly 
maintained  evangelical  worship  and  cherished  evangelical 
literature,  the  while  he  implanted  in  his  children  scriptural  faith, 
spoke  on  his  death-bed  with  great  assurance  of  the  speedy 
renewal  of  their  church.  Fifteen  years  later  two  of  his  grand- 
sons, Augustine  and  Jacob  Neisser,  with  their  families,  followed 
Christian  David,  "the  servant  of  the  Lord,"  to  Saxony,  where, 
on  June  17,  1722,  they  began  to  build  the  town  of  Herrnhut, 
on  the  estate  of  Count  Zinzendorf.  who  had  oflfered  them  an 
asylum. 

Herrnhut  soon  became  the  rallying-place  for  the  descendants 
of  the  Brethren,  several  hundred  of  whom  emigrated  from 
Bohemia  and  Moravia.  They  introduced  their  characteristic 
discipline,  handed  down  by  Comenius,  and  to  them,  in  1735, 
their  venerable  episcopate  was  transmitted  from  its  surviving 
representatives,  Daniel  Ernst  Jablonski  and  Christian  Sitkovius. 

The  development  which  now  began  was,  ^owever,  different 
in  some  respects  from  that  of  former  times.  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf, who  gradually  came  to  devote  his  entire  patrimony,  his 
time  and  his  talents  to  the  spread  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
through  the  agency  of  the  Brethren,  himself  became  the  lead- 
ing bishop  of  the  resuscitated  church,  and  he  strove  to  build  it 
u])  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  the  State  Church,  in  the  communion  of  which  he  had 
been  born  and  to  which  he  was  sincerely  attached.  In  carrying 
«)nt  this  principle  he  did  not  allow  the  revived  Unitas  Fratrum 
to  expand,  as  other  churches  expand,  but  established  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  in  Great  Britain,  and  in  America,  exclu- 
sively Moravian  settlements,  from  which  the  follies  and  temp- 


INTRODUCTORY.  XIII 

talions  of  the  world  were  shut  out,  and  in  which  was  fostered 
the  highest  form  of  spiritual  life.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
its  members  did  not  remain  idle,  but  undertook  extensive  mis- 
sions in  heathen  lands,  established  many  schools  for  young 
people  not  of  their  communion,  and  began  the  so-called  Dias- 
pora or  Inner  Mission  among  nominal  members  of  the  State 
Ciiurches  of  Europe.  This  Mission  has  in  view  their  conver- 
sion and  edification  without  drawing  them  away  from  their  own 
communion,  and  at  present  numbers  many  times  more  members 
than  are  within  the  immediate  fellowship  of  the  Moravian 
Church  on  the  Continent. 

It  was  already  before  the  episcopate  had  been  transmitted 
lo  the  resuscitated  church,  and  when  Herrnhut  numbered  only 
six  hundred  souls  that  connections  with  many  who  longed  for 
the  promotion  of  vital  piety  in  Christendom  were  established, 
and  the  first  two  missionaries  to  heathen  lands  were  sent  forth 
— the  latter  in  1732.  At  this  time  there  were  but  three  other 
FVotestanl  missions,  namely,  the  Lutheran  mission  in  Green- 
land, the  Lutheran  mission  in  the  East  Indies,  and  the  missions 
oi  the  Anglican  "Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,"  among  the  North  American  Indians  and  elsewhere. 

The  exclusive  system  still  continues  in  Germany  in  a  modi- 
fied form ;  in  England,  also,  there  are  a  few  Moravian  settle- 
ments: but  in  America  this  polity  has  been  given  up.  The  last 
vestige  of  it  disappeared  in  1856.  In  the  following  year,  at  a 
general  synod  held  at  Herrnhut,  the  constitution  of  the  Unitas 
Fratrum  was  remodeled,  the  new  development  being  completed 
at  the  general  synod  of  1899.  The  Moravian  Church  now  con- 
sists of  four  provinces,  the  German,  the  British,  and  the  Ameri- 
can, North  and  South,  which  are  united  as  one  body  in  regard 
to  doctrine,  ritual,  discipline,  the  work  of  foreign  missions,  and 
the  Bohemian- Moravian  mission — a  new  enterprise  begun  in 
the  ancient  seats  of  the  Brethren  in  1870.  Otherwise,  however, 
each  province  is  free  to  develop  as  God  may  show  it  the  way. 

Since  this  change  of  polity  the  -American  Provinces  have 
increased  rapidly,  the  number  of  their  churches  and  members 
being  now  about  fivefold  what  it  was  in  1850.  They  now  carry 
on  the  work  of  church-extension  in  the  same  way  as  the  other 
religious  denominations  of  our  country,  and  still  pay  particular 
attention  to  the  Christian  education  of  young  people  entrusted 
to  their  care  in  tlicir  >;(-lino!s  nt  T\-thlehem.  Xazarctli  .nnd  T.ififz. 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY. 

in  Pennsylvania,  and  at  Salem,  in  North  Carolina,  as  well  as 
in  the  Moravian  College,  at  Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania. 

Each  province  of  the  Moravian  Church  has  a  synod  as  its 
legislative  body,  constituted  of  ministers  and  lay  representa- 
tives of  the  congregations  and  convening  at  stated  intervals, 
and  an  executive  board  elected  by  and  responsible  to  it.  The 
synod  of  the  American  Province,  North,  holds  its  sessions 
every  five  years,  and' its  executive,  known  as  the  Provincial 
Elders'  Conference,  appoints  the  ministers  to  the  various  con- 
gregations, is  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the  general  affairs 
of  the  province  and  acts  as  the  special  agent  of  the  Mission 
Board  in  relation  to  the  missions  in  Alaska  and  amongst  the 
Indians.  The  executive  boards  of  the  four  provinces  conjointly 
form  the  Directing  Board  of  the  Unity,  Every  ten  years  the 
general  synod  convenes,  constituted  of  elected  delegates  of  the 
several  provinces  and  certain  ex-ofUcio  members,  the  missions 
also  having  their  representatives.  The  general  synod  takes 
cognizance  of  the  life,  doctrine  and  activity  of  the  entire  Mora- 
vian Church.  By  it  the  Mission  Board  is  elected,  and  to  it  the 
Mission  Board  is  responsible.  Thus  the  Moravian  Church 
forms  one  organic  ecclesiastical  body  throughout  the  world, 
with  regulations  sufficiently  elastic,  however,  to  take  into 
account  national  characteristics  and  conditions. 

It  enjoys  a  complete  and  varied  ritual,  including  formulas  for 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  for  marriages  and  funerals, 
for  confirmation  and  ordination,  services  for  the  Lord's  Day 
and  for  festivals  of  the  Christian  Year,  together  with  other 
forms,  but  also  allows  of  free  prayer  in  public  worship.  It  per- 
petuates the  three  orders  of  the  ministry,  bishops,  presbyters, 
and  deacons ;  admits  new  converts  by  the  rite  of  confirmation ; 
receives  members  of  other  evangelical  churches  by  certificate ; 
encourages  lay  work  and  the  meetings  of  small  circles  for 
mutual  edification ;  and  exercises  a  strict  discipline,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  injunctions  of  Scripture  and  the  example  of  the 
Bohemian  and  Moravian  fathers. 

The  doctrinal  position  of  the  Moravian  Church  is  that  of  a 
union  church,  adhering  firmly  to  the  cardinal  points  of  evan- 
gelical faith  as  held  in  common  by  Protestant  Christendom. 
But  no  denominational  creed  has  been  drawn  up,  defining  in 
minute  detail  what  members  shall  subscribe  to  in  connection 
with   every   disputed   point.       Dogmatizing   is    foreign   to   the 


INTRODUCTORY.  XV 

Moravian  spirit,  which  is  Johannean  rather  than  Pauline  or 
Petrine.  At  the  same  time  there  is  no  sympathy  with  intellec- 
tual and  spiritual  indolence.  Individuals  are  encouraged  to 
seek  to  grasp  the  mysteries  of  revelation  for  themselves;  to 
grow  in  knowledge  as  well  as  in  grace ;  to  solve  the  great  prob- 
lems of  religious  belief,  constructing  their  own  practical  system 
of  scriptural  theology.  And  on  each  one  the  duty  of  being  a 
co-worker  in  promoting  the  advance  of  Christ's  Kingdom  is 
earnestly  impressed. 

On  January  i,  1900,  the  united  membership  of  the  four  prov- 
inces of  the  Moravian  Church  was  38,280.  The  Diaspora  socie- 
ties on  the  Continent  of  Europe  embraced  about  70,000  in  their 
connection.  The  membership  of  the  congregations  gathered 
from  among  the  heathen  was  96,380.  Hence  the  total  num- 
ber of  those  in  fellowship  with  the  Moravian  Church  approxi- 
mated 204,600. 


At  ;ti  c     C 


:<^  ^ 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S 


,  ^^  CHAPTER  l.^^^2l^^-:zJ^fttrA 

THE    FIRST    DECADE.  ;^^p";*t*-<^  *''*^<^-i-<-a-M^.^!^7'<2r 

Of    the    various    affiliations    effected    by    Count    Zinzen^orf^^^-^i^ 
that  with  the  Danish  court  was  destined  to  be  of  first  and  most  '^~~~~--. 

immediate   significance.      That   the   man  who  in  youth   estab-  ' 

hshed  his  ''Order  of  the  Mustard  Seed"  had  been  observant  of 
movements  for  the  evangeHzation  of  the  world  is  apparent 
from  the  fact  that  when  David  and  John  Xitschmann  were  sent 
in  1727  to  Prince  Charles,  the  brother  of  Frederick  the  Fourth, 
at  Copenhagen,  they  had  instructions  to  inquire  whether  the 
Brethren  could  be  of  service  in  connection  with  the  under- 
taking of  the  Lutheran  missionary,  Hans  Egede,  in  Greenlan*!. 
Since  1708  this  large-hearted  servant  of  Christ  had  devoted 
himself  to  an  effort  in  behalf  of  descendants  of  the  ancient 
•|-  ^'orsc  settlers  on  the  east  coast  of  that  dreary  land,  whom  he 
hoped  to  fintl  and  lead  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  When  at 
last  he  was  able  to  make  his  way  thither,  in  1721,  disappoint- 
ment was  inevitable,  for  no  such  people  could  be  discovered. 
But  his  attention  had  been  turned  to  the  Eskimos,  and  to  them 
he  heroically  ministered  for  their  bodily  diseases,  though  as 
yet  he  could  not  find  the  key  to  unlock  their  hearts.  The 
Danish  king  seconded  his  project  with  an  attempt  to  found  a 
colony  of  soldiers  and  traders,  but  the  results  had  been  inade- 
quate. Nor  was  this  the  only  manifestation  of  the  sympathv 
of  the  Danish  court  with  the  promotion  of  vital  religion.  Its 
well-known  attitude  in  religious  affairs  had  long  awakened  in 
Zinzendorf  a  desire  to  enter  the  service  of  this  pronouncedlv 
Christian  government,  and  at  that  to  become  a  court  preacher, 
if  it  could  be  brought  about  without  a  surrender  of  conscien- 
tious convictions.  Ever  since  the  death  of  his  grandmother, 
in  1726.  this  had  been  a  cherished  purpose.  He  as  yet  by  no 
means  proposed  to  confine  his  energies  to  the  interests  of  the 


2  A    HISTORY    OF 

Moravians,  considering  himself  Ein  freier  Knccht  dcs  Harm — a 
free  volunteer  in  the  service  of  Christ. 

In  October,  1730,  Frederick  the  Fourth  died.  The  acces- 
sion of  Christian  the  Sixth,  whose  coronation  was  appointed 
for  the  following  May,  seemed  to  oflfer  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  the  Count,  ready  as  he  was  to  surrender  his  Saxon  ofifice. 
On  April  25th  he  therefore  set  out,  wjth  David  Nitschmann, 
the  future  bishop,  and  two  other  Moravians  as  his  companions. 
The  visit  in  Copenhagen  was  a  protracted  one.  Having  pre- 
viously been  on  a  footing  of  intimacy  with  several  members  of 
the  court,  he  was  received  with  distinguished  kindness.  In- 
token  of  sympathy  with  his  zeal  in  the  service  of  God,  the  king 
decorated  him  with  the  Order  of  the  Danebrog,  in  June.  But 
his  wish  for  some  office  was  not  gratified. 

Yet  this  failure,  like  several  failures  of  Zinzendorf's  plans 
during  these  years  in  connection  with  affairs  beyond  the  hori- 
zon of  the  Moravians,  became  pregnant  in  results  for  Herrnhut. 
Two  widely  separated  Macedonian  cries  met  with  a  response 
in  consequence.  On  the  one  hand  the  Count  learnt  to  his 
sorrow  that  the  royal  policy  with  regard  to  Greenland  had 
been  reversed  and  the  soldiers  and  artisans  recalled.  He  also 
met  two  Eskimos  from  whom  he  heard  that  Egede's  efforts 
^/'w^e  on  the  verge  of  failure,  and  that  he  sorely  needed  help. 
On  the  other  hand,  Anthony,  the  negro  body  servant  of  Count 
Laurwig,  described  most  pathetically  the  dark  moral  and  intel- 
lectual and  religious  condition  of  the  slaves  in  the  Danish  West 
Indies.  These  things  led  him  to  plan  forthwith  for  missions 
in  Greenland  and  Lapland,  and  in  Africa  and  America.  He 
requested  and  received  permission  to  take  Anthony  with  him 
to  Herrnhut. 

Herrnhut  had  been  providentially  prepared  for  this  visit. 
Already  in  1644  or  1645  Comenius  in  his  Judicum  duplex  dc 
regula  fidci  had  set  forth  the  truth  that  the  evangelization  of 
the  heathen  is  an  imperative  obligation  for  a  living  church,  and 
had  planned  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Turkish 
as  preparatory  to  the  propagation  of  the  faith  in  Moslem  lands. 
And  the  spiritual  sons  of  Comenius  had  already  been  vouch- 
safed a  recognition  of  the  duty  of  evangelization  as  binding 
upon  them.  On  the^oth  of  February,  1728,  a  memorable  day 
of  prayer  4iad  been  observed  in  Herrnhut.  Zinzendorf  and  his 
^^b'rethrcn  had  conferred  together  in  addresses  interspersed  with 


r 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  3 

hymns  and  prayers,  how  tliey  might  venture  upon  some  worthy 
undertaking  for  God.  Distant  lands  liad  been  named  to  be 
won  for  Him — Turlcey  and  Africa,  Greenland  and  Lapland. 
"But  it  is  impossible  to  find  a  way  thither,"  some  had  said. 
Zinzendorf  had  replied,  "The  Lord  can  and  will  give  grace  and 
strength  for  this."  His  reply  and  child-like  faith  had  so  in- 
spired all,  that  on  the  following  day  twenty-six  unmarried 
brethren  had  come  together,  with  a  view  to  prepare  to  answer 
the  call  of  the  Lord  when  it  came  to  them.  The  missionary 
purpose  was  already  there,  and  needed  only  the  external  occa- 
'  sion  to  change  it  to  the  missionary  deed.  This  occasion  was 
now  to  be  furnished. 

"On  the  23d  of  July,"  says  Spangcnbcrg,  "the  day  after  the 
Count  returned  to  Herrnhut,  he  reported,  in  the  meeting  then 
held,  what  he  had  heard  in  Copenhagen  with  regard  to  the 
wretched  state  of  the  negroes.  By  the  grace  of  God,  his  words 
produced  such  an  effect  upon  Leonard  Dobcr,  that  he  there 
and  then  resolved  to  offer  himself  as  a  missionary  to  these 
poor  enslaved  races.  The  same  resolution  was  formed  at  the 
same  time  by  another  of  the  Brethren,  Tobias  Leopold ;  but 
though  they  were  intimate  friends,  they  said  notfTing  to  each 
other  on  the  subject  till  they  had  spread  the  matter  before  the 
Lord.  After  an  almost  sleepless  night,  Leonard  Dober  opened 
the  Bible,  on  the  morning  of  July  24,  to  seek  for  some  direc- 
tion from  above,  and  his  eye  fell  upon  Dcut.  32:47.  *It  is  not 
a  vain  thing  for  you ;  because  it  is  your  life ;  and  through  this 
thing  ye  shall  prolong  your  days  in  the  land,  whither  ye  go 
over  Jonlan  to  possess  it.'  The  words  greatly  strength- 
ened him.  He  then  communicated  his  thougtiis  to  Leopold, 
by  whom  they  were  warmly  reciprocated.  They  then  knelt  to- 
gether before  God.  and  told  Him  the  desire  of  their  hearts.  On 
the  23th  of  July  Leopold  wrote  to  the  Count,  and  informed 
him  that  he  and  Dober  felt  impelled  to  go  and  preach  to  the 
negroes.  That  evening  their  letter  was  read  in  the  singing- 
meeting,  without  any  mention  of  names.  On  the  29th  the 
negro  Anthony  arrived  from  Copenhagen,  and  a  short  time 
afterwards  gave  his  own  account,  in  one  of  the  meetings  of 
the  Brethren,  of  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  black  popula- 
tion in  the  West  Indies.  But  he  stated  it  as  his  belief  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  a  missionary*  to  reach  these  poor 
creaturci  In  niiy  other  w  '\    tlim  \^\-  becoming  a  slave  himself, 


4  A    HISTORY    OF 

for  their  toils  were  so  incessant  and  exhausting  that  there  was 
no  opportunity  of  instructing  them,  except  when  they  were  at 
work." 

This  prospect  did  not  deter  Dober  or  Leopold,  but  rather 
confirmed  them  in  their  resolution.  The  matter  being  then 
referred  to  the  church  council,  it  was  decided  by  lot  that 
Dober  should  go  to  the  West  Indies,  but  that  Leopold  should 
remain  a  while  longer  in  Herrnhut.  Even  before  Anthony  had 
made  his  personal  appeal,  the  example  of  the  two  friends 
afifected  their  companions  so  powerfully  that  two  others,  Mat- 
thew Stach  and  Frederick  Bohnisch,  offered  to  go  to  Green- 
land. But  in  the  case  of  each  and  all  Zinzendorf  deemed  it 
wise  to  delay  their  actual  departure,  that  their  fitness  might  be 
thoroughly  tested.  It  was  therefore  not  until  August  21, 
1732,  that  Dober,  now  twenty-six  years  of  age,  set  out  for 
Copenhagen  on  foot,  with  David  Nitschmann,  the  carpenter, 
nine  years  his  senior,  a;s  his  companion.  They  had  each  one 
ducat,  and  had  also  three  thaler  in  common — their  sole  re- 
sources for  a  journey  of  several  thousand  miles.  Wherever 
they  came,  as  they  proceeded  via  Wernigerode  and  Hansberg, 
ridicule  or  dissuasion  formed  their  welcome,  with  the  sole  ex- 
ception of  the  cordial  encouragement  received  from  Countess 
Stollberg-Wernigerode.  Nevertheless  they  remained  firm,  and 
at  Copenhagen  Counts  Reuss  and  Blum  were  won  by  this  deter- 
mined front,  and  becoming  their  advocates  at  the  court,  ren- 
dered various  services  in  furtherance  of  their  project.  Thus 
at  last,  on  October  8,  1732,  they  set  sail,  Nitschmann  having 
secured  work  as  ship's  carpenter,  and  reached  St.  Thomas  on 
December  13. 

The  island  had  been  in  the  possession  of  Denmark  for  sixty- 
six  years.  When  Erik  Smidt,  of  the  good  ship  Dc  Endracht, 
took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty  Frederick  the 
Third,  he  found  about  a  dozen  EngHsh  and  Dutch  families  on  its 
soil.  As  early  as  1680  there  were  fifty  tobacco  plantations,  and 
slaves  were  already  employed.  The  poor  Caribs  were  dwind- 
ling away  into  extinction,  leaving  a  few  carvings  on  rocks  at 
Rif  Bay  and  scanty  celts  to  tell  the  meager  story  of  their  owner- 
ship of  the  Virgin  Islands.  Christian  the  Fifth,  in  accordance 
with  the  sentiment  of  his  times,  directly  encouraged  the  impor- 
tation of  African  slave  labor  by  establishing  forts  on  the  Gold 
Coast   and   ordering   ships   thither  to   secure   negroes   for   St. 


MORAVIAN"    MISSIONS.  5 

Thomas.  By  1732,  thanks  to  the  trade  in  tobacco,  St.  Thomas 
had  become  a  flourishing  port.  Its  houses  of  brick,  one  story 
in  height,  paved  with  tiles  and  whitewashed  in  the  interior,  were 
arranged  along  one  long  street,  conforming  to  the  shape  of  the 
bay,  and  along  two  shorter  streets,  near  the  handsome  factory 
of  the  Danish  Company,  and  were  occupied  chiefly  by  the 
families  of  numerous  Huguenot  refugees.  A  fort  served  to 
assert  the  majesty  of  the  Danish  flag.  The  well-tilled,  though 
small,  estates  in  the  interior  produced  indigo,  sugar-cane, 
manioc,  millet,  sweet  potatoes,  and  all  kinds  of  fruit  and  herbs, 
in  addition  to  tobacco. 

Long  before  the  arrival  of  Dober  and  Nitschmann  provision 
had  been  made  for  the  religious  welfare  of  the  colonists.  In- 
deed Jorgen  Iwersen,  who  became  the  first  governor  in  1672, 
was  a  martinet  in  every  relationship  of  life.  Under  his  regime 
every  inhabitant  was  obliged  to  attend  service  every  Sunday 
in  Christiansfort  at  drum-beat,  under  penalty  of  twenty  pounds 
of  tobacco.  He  who  worked  or  allowed  his  men  to  work  on  the 
Lora  s'day  was  liable  to  a  fine  of  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco.  But 
for  the  spiritual  care  and  enlightenment  of  the  blacks  nothing 
was  done.  The  type  of  religion  dominant  amongst  tlie  whites 
was  distinguished  by  narrow  intolerance  and  a  comfortable 
belief  in  one's  own  predestined  inheritance  of  heaven  together 
with  a  large  measure  of  indifference  as  to  the  predestination 
of  any  other  man.  In  fact  the  poor  slaves  had  hitherto  sup- 
posed that  to  rejoice  in  a  Saviour  was  a  perquisite  of  their 
masters,  while  obeahism  and  fetishism  were  sufficiently  good 
for  them.  Great  was  their  delight  when  on  the  third  Sunday 
in  Advent,  1732,  the  Moravian  missionaries  commenced  their 
labors  with  the  message,  "The  poor  have  the  gospel  preached 
to  them." 

Dober  and  Xitschmaiin  were  at  first  the  guests  of  a  planter 
who  received  them  into  his  house  on  the  strength  of  a  letter 
of  recommendation.  Anna  and  Abraham,  the  sister  and  brother 
of  Anthony,  made  easy  their  approach  to  the  slaves.  For  four 
months  Nitschmann  supported  his  companion  and  himself  by 
working  at  his  craft.  But  it  had  not  been  intended  that  he 
should  remain  permanently.  In  April,  1733.  he  therefore  re- 
turned to  Europe.  Dober  for  a  time  found  himself  in  great 
straits.  As  a  potter  he  could  gain  no  employment.  Governor 
Gardelin  then  kindly  offered  him  the  position  of  steward  .oi,  his 


6  A    HISTORY    OF 

household,  and  so  saved  him  from  the  worst  distress.  But  this 
occupation  left  too  little  leisure  for  his  more  important  work. 
Hence  next  year  he  cut  loose  from  this  assured  means  of  liveli- 
hood, and  earned  a  precarious  living  as  a  watchman  in  town 
and  on  the  cotton-plantations,  content,  nevertheless,  since  now 
he  could  devote  far  more  attenttion  to  the  negroes. 

To  be  thus  identified  with  the  blacks  at  this  time  made  heavy 
demands  upon  moral  courage.  It  involved  social  ostracism 
as  a  matter  of  course,  possibly  even  something  worse.  For 
the  little  island  of  St.  John,  only  four  miles  away  and  under 
the  same  jurisdiction,  was  the  scene  of  terrible  events.  Colon- 
ized only  in  1716,  its  slave  population  so  outnumbered  the 
whites  that  the  most  stringent  regulations  had  been  framed  to 
keep  the  former  in  subjection  born  of  abject  fear.  Amongst 
the  provisions  of  this  awful  code  were  the  following:  "The 
leader  of  runaway  slaves  shall  be  pinched  three  times  with  a 
red-hot  iron,  and  then  hung.  Each  other  runaway  slave  shall 
lose  one  leg,  or  if  the  owner  pardon  him,  shall  lose  one  ear  and 
receive  one  hundred  and  fifty  stripes.  Any  slave  being  aware 
of  the  intention  of  others  to  run  away  and  not  giving  informa- 
tion, shall  be  burned  in  the  forehead  and  receive  one  hundred 
stripes.  Slaves  who  steal  to  the  value  of  four  rix-dollars  shall 
be  pinched  and  hung;  less  than  four  rix-dollars,  shall  be 
branded  and  receive  one  hundred  and  fifty  stripes.  A  slave 
who  lifts  his  hand  to  strike  a  white  person,  or  threaten  him 
with  violence,  shall  be  pinched  and  hung,  should  the  white 
person  demand  it ;  if  not,  shall  lose  his  right  hand.  A 
slave  meeting  a  white  person,  shall  step  aside  and  wait  until 
he  passes ;  if  not,  he  may  be  flogged.  No  estate  slave 
shall  be  in  town  after  drum-beat;  otherwise  he  shall  be 
put  in  the  fort  and  flogged."  On  the  13th  of  November,  1733, 
a  sanguinary  insurrection  broke  out.  Except  on  one  estate, 
where  an  old  Englishman,  assisted  by  fugitive  planters  who  had 
gathered  around  him,  fought  off  the  insurgents,  only  one  white 
man  survived,  a  surgeon  who  was  spared  on  condition  of  at- 
tending to  wounded  slaves.  It  required  the  aid  of  French  sol- 
diers from  Martinique  before  the  military  force  in  St.  Thomas 
could  quell  the  rebelHon.  Even  then,  when  the  last  three 
hundred  insurgents  had  been  surrounded,  they  preferred  suicide 
to  surrender.  The  general  sentiment  of  the  colonists  was 
therefore  scarcely  favorable  to  the  undertaking  of  Dober. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  ,/  7 

The  more  rejoiced  was  he  when  in  June,  1734,  Tobias 
Leopold  and  seventeen  others  arrived^  some  of  whom  were  to 
continue  the  work  which  he  had  commenced,  and  others  to 
\oloni2^  and  evangelize  St^Xrof^^^at  the  solicitation  of  Cham- 
berlain von  Pless.  He  himself  was  under  orders  to  return  to 
Europe,  to  assume  the  office  of  chief  elder,  rendered  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Martin  Linner.  With  him  sailed  an  orphan,  Car- 
mel  Oly,  the  first  fruits  of  his  work,  whose  freedom  had  been 
bought,  and  who  was  baptized  next  year  at  Ebersdorf,  receiving 
the  name  Joshua. 

St.  Croix  had  been  acquired  from  France  only  the  year  hc.- 
fore.  Its  soil  was  more  fertile  than  that  of  St.  Thomas ;  but  it 
had  been  practically  abandoned  in  1720,  owing  to  successive 
droughts.  Dense  jungles  and  undergrowth  had  encroached 
upon  the  former  plantations.  Denmark  contemplated  sending 
thither  slave  labor,  and  in  anticipation  welcomed  missionary 
colonists.  But  they  had  arrived  in  no  proper  condition  to  face 
the  strain  of  life  in  the  tropics.  Their  voyage  had  been  unduly 
prolonged  and  had  been  attended  with  severe  hardship.  They 
had  sailed  from  Stettin  on  November  12,  1733,  and  had  been 
seven  months  on  the  way,  having  been  driven  by  storms  into 
the  harbor  of  Tremmesand.  in  Xorway,  and  compelled  to  winter 
there.  The  cabin  assigned  to  them,  though  eighteen  in  num- 
ber^ad  been  but  ten  feet  square,  so  overcrowded  was  the  ves- 
sel. Water  almost  failed  during  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage. 
Several  succumbed  to  yellow  fever  before  they  passed  from  St. 
Thomas  to  St..  Croix.  By  the  end  of  the  following  January 
eig^ht  of  the  eighteen,  including  Leopold,  had  died.  In  Feb- 
ruary eleven  persons  set  out  from  Herrnhut  to  reenforce  them, 
and  Dr.  Grottausen,  of  Copenhagen,  also  volunteered.  But  the 
mortality  continued — the  physician  being  the  first  to  fall,  and  it^^ 
then  four  others  of  the  new  comers  within  two  months.    During  - 

the  years  1735  ^"^^  ^73^  most  of  the  survivors  returned  home 
in  a  miserable  plight,  three  of  them  suffering  shipwreck  en 
route.  The  last  survivor  in  December,  1736,  passed  over  to  St. 
Tjiomas  to  join  Frederick  Martin,  who  had  been  in  charge  of 
the  nnSsion  there  since  March.  He  and  his  assistant,  Bonike, 
had  met  with  great  success  amongst  Dober's  catechumens. 
Their  hearers  sometimes  numbered  two  hundred. 

They  themselves  not  yet  being  ordained,  could  not  administer 
baptism  to  their  converts.      Augustus  Gottlieb   Spangenberg, 


8  A   HISTORY    OF 

for  some  time  past  active  as  an  evangelist  amongst  the  Ger- 

Jmans  of  J^^oas^yania,  had  therefore  been  sent  thither  in  Sep- 
tember, and  on  the  30th  of  the  month  had  baptized  Andrew,  Paul 
and  Nathaniel,  who  became  the  nucleus  of  the  first  mission  con- 

>  gregation  in  the  West  Indies.  The  opposition  of  white  planters 
continued  to  be  exceedingly  bitter,  the  more  so  because  the 
lives  of  many  of  them  were  a  reproach  to  the  gospel.  And  the 
opposition  deepened  when  in  August,  17^7,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  friendly  planter  an  estate  was  purchased  for  the  mission, 
known  as  Posaunenberg — later  New  Herrnhut.  In  fact  they 
might  have  succeeded  in  their  design  to  crush  the  work,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  providential  arrival  of  Count  Zinzendprf,  in 

•  accordance  with  a  plan  of  visitation  formed  quite  independently 
of  knowledge  of  trouble  other  than  that  caused  by  fevers, 
scarcity  of  provisions  and  hindrances  of  a  general  nature.  On 
the  one  hand  he  wished  to  obtain  personal  insight  into  the  work 
of  the  mission;  on  the  other  hand  he  desired  to  silence  the 
calumnies  of  certain  persons,  who  said  that  he  did  not  scruple 
to  send  his  brethren  to  pestilential  climates  but  was  afraid  to 
go  thither  himself.  On  approaching  the  island  in  the  latter 
part  of  January,  1739,  the  thought  of  the  terrible  death-rate 
amongst  the  missionaries  hitherto  led  him  to  say  to  one  of  his 

f  companions,  George  Weber,  a  Moravian  by  birth,  "Suppose 
that  the  brethren  are  nolonger  here;  what  shall  we  do  in  that 
case?"  Weber's  instant  reply  was,  "In  that  case  we  are  here." 
The  calm  steadfastness  of  the  man,  so  characteristic  of  the 
Moravian  witness-spirit,  evoked  this  comment  from  the  aston- 
ished Count,  "Gens  acterna,  dicsc  Maehrcn"  ("An  indestructible 

race,  these  Moravians").  

He  found  the  missionaries  sufifering  unjust  imprisonment  in 
most  wretched  quarters.  The  case  had  been  this.  The  Re- 
formed clergyman,  Borm,  according  to  his  own  statement,  had 
taken  upon  himself  to  examine  some  of  the  converted  negroes. 
Thev  were  not  willing  to  answer  his  captious  questions.  He 
therefore  instigated  the  Common  Council  to  petition  the  Gov- 
ernor to  prohibit  the  Brethren  from  baptizing  their  converts, 
and  to  compel  a  certain  missionary,  whose  marriage  had  been 
performed  by  Martin,  to  have  the  ceremony  repeated  by  a  cler- 
gyman of  the  State  Church.  The  Governor  had  too  much 
confidence  in  the  Brethren  to  be  drawn  into  the  scheme.  Then 
their  foes  raise^dNjp.jhe  false  charge  of  a  robber^',  from  which 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S.  9 

the  Brethren  were  required  to  clear  themselves  by  oath.  This 
they  had  not  been  willing  to  do,  all  taking  of  oaths  being  con- 
trary to  their  conscientious  convictions.  Zinzendorf's  indigna- 
tion was  excessive,  on  learning  these  facts.  He  at  once  waited 
upon  the  Governor  with  a  demand  for  their  immediate  release. 
It  was  granted  next  day,  with  an  apology  for  what  had  hap- 
pened. 

The  visiting  brethren  were  astonished  at  the  extent  of  the 
work  and  its  success.  About  eighty huridred  blacks  were,  under 
thejnf^pence  of  the  gospel.  Daily,  in  the  evening,  the  converts 
assembled  for  worship,  and  Zinzendorf  himself  frequently  ad- 
dressed them.  After  his  farewell  address  at  Posaunenberg  they 
forgot  prudence  in  their  religious  enthusiasm,  and  some  of  them 
sought  to  accompany  him  to  town,  contrary  to  regulations. 
This  offered  an  excuse  to  their  enemies,  to  set  upon  them  and 
then  attack  the  mission  station.  The  missionaries  were  with 
Zinzendorf,  and  so  escaped  personal  harm  by  their  absence. 
But  much  damage  was  done  to  the  property.  Notwithstanding 
the  Governor's  expression  of  his  disapproval  of  the  riotous 
outrage,  when  a  protest  was  lodged  the  missionaries  later  ex- 
perienced personal  ill-treatment,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to 
retreat  to  the  woods  in  order  to  hold  services,  and  to  station 
sentries  against  a  sudden  attack.  But  on  Zinzendorf's  return 
to  Europe  his  personal  representations,  together  with  petitions 
from  influential  friends,  secured  from  the  Danish  crown  con- 
cessions practically  guaranteeing  liberty  of  worship.  ^ 

Not  long  after  a  sad  catastrophe  threw  a  shadow  over  the  .  _»a.**^T2A^ 
work.  Theodore  Feder  and  Christian  Gottlieb  1.^131^^  aftt'rV*2^^j'^\^ 
having  been  ordained  for  service  here,  set  sail  from  Tcxel  on    Jh'*'^^^ 


November  17,   1739.     On  January  17  their  vessel  struck  on  a 
reef  near  Tortola.     The  sailors  took  to  their  boat,  and  left  thc^ 
missionaries  to  their  fate.     Feder,  hoping  to  swim  ashore,  let 
himself  down  from  the  ship  and  perished  before  the  eyes  of  his 
companion,  whose  calm  farewell  sounded  forth  in  imperishable 
faith.  "Depart,  my  brother,  in  peace."     For  hours  he  clung  to   ■4»- 
the  wreck,  sustaining  his  confidence  with  hymns.     At  last  he    (#Uf| 
was   rescued  by   people   from   the   shore,   anfl   was   hospitably 
cared   for.     A   month   later  he  joined   F'rederick    Martin,   and 
during  the  same  year  with  George  Weber  and  his  wife  moved 
to  St.  Croix,  to  recommence  the  mission  on  that  island.     Their 


lO  A    HISTORY    OF 

first  converts  were  baptized  in  1744,  though  land  for  the  first 
mission  station  was  not  acquired  until  1755 — Friedensthal. 

The^ear  J741  was  signalized  by  the  extension  of  the  work 
to^^Cjohn)  when  a  pious  overseer,  Jens  Rasmus,  requested  the 
Brethren  m  St.  Thomas  to  preach  statedly  to  the  negroes  in  his 
charge.  Baptisms  took  place  in  1745,  but  a  resident  missionary 
was  not  stationed  there  until  1754,  when  John  Brucker  removed 
to  Bethania,  an  estate  purchased  in  1749. 

But  GreenlandMiad  not  been  forgotten. 

On  April  10,  1733,  the  good  ship  Caritas  left,  Copen- 
hagen with  three  missionaries  on  board — Matthew  and  Chris- 
tian Stach,  cousins,  and  Christian  David,  They  knew  so  little 
of  its  cHmatic  and  other  conditions  that  they  had  spoken  of 
felling  trees  for  the  erection  of  their  house ;  but  no  hindrance 
could  deter  men  of  their  stamp,  whether  realized  or  unim- 
agined.  Fair  weather  was  succeeded  by  a  violent  storm  as 
they  neared  Greenland,  and  the  drift-ice  swept  around  threat- 
eningly ;  but  comfort  was  found  in  the  Daily  Word  at  debarka- 
tion, "The  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall 
keep  your  hearts  and  minds  through  Christ  Jesus."  Egede's 
reception  of  them,  thanks  to  a  cordial  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion from  Chamberlain  von  Pless,  was  warmly  affectionate. 
About  a  mile  away  from  his  colony  they  selected  a  site  for  their 
home,  and  built  a  hut  of  stones  and  sod,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
natives. 

What  a  land  they  had  come  to !  Does  it  properly  belong  to 
America  or  to  Europe  ?  Only  a  narrow  strait  separates  it  from 
the  western  continent ;  but  its  geological  formation  and  its 
fauna  are  rather  European.  Perhaps  it  is  no  true  land,  but 
only  a  vast  congeries  of  islands  cemented  together  by  eternal 
ice  and  snow.  Drake  called  it  "The  Land  of  Desolation." 
Here  and  there  grow  a  few  small  bushes,  but  no  real  forests. 
Huge  snow-capped  clifts,  black  where  the  earth  crops  through, 
enormous  glaciers  and  deep-cut  fjords,  with  a  few  ptarmigan 
to  give  life,  are  its  scenes  of  beauty.  Glacier  after  glacier 
launches  icebergs  with  the  thunder  of  heavy  artillery.  The  in- 
terior is  a  "Sahara  of  snow  and  ice."  Here  and  there  a  patch 
of  brown  earth,  perhaps ;  the  elevation  gradually  rising  to 
mountainous  table-land,  but  all  ice  and  snow,  desolation  reign- 
ing in  unrivaled  and  unchallenged  security.  Animal  life,  like 
that  of  man,  keeps  close  to  the  coast,  and  at  that  mostly  to 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  I 

the  west  coast.  Such  a  thing  as  a  climate  the  land  can  be  said 
to  possess  only  by  courtesy.  For  long  months  darkness  is  the 
guest  of  cold.  But  then  the  aurora,  shining  and  quivering  and 
flashing — the  heathen  native  thought  this  was  caused  by  the 
spirits  of  his  dead  playing  a  game  of  ball  up  yonder  with  a 
walrus-skull — and  the  doubly  brilliant  stars  take  pity  on  the 
unfortunates  whom  the  sun  has  forsaken.  In  the  brief  summer, 
indeed,  willow  bushes  and  stunted  birches  burst  out  into 
green  along  the  coast,  and  grass  and  berries  and  poppies  and 
moss  for  a  time  break  the  monotony  of  white ;  but  it  is  a  silent 
solitude,  save  for  the  sea-fowl.  Land  animals  do  not  flourish. 
The  icy  earth  becomes  a  tomb  for  seeds  cast  into  it  by  the 
stranger  who  experiments.  It  is  frpni-tke  ^ea  that  the  Green- 
lander  gets  liis  chief  supplies  of  food.  But  the  seals,  and  wal- 
rus, and  the  dolphins,  the  porpoises,  and  herrings,  anvl  per- 
chance a  giant  whale,  the  prize  of  his  harpoon,  afford  him  the 
heat-giving  sustenance  which  his  northern  latitude  requires. 

The  jjreenlander — "'Innuit,"  man,  emphatically  man.  he  callis 
himself;  Europeans  with  less  narrowed  standard  of  comparison 
have  dubbed  him  "Eskimo,"  eater  of  raw  flesh — in  person  is 
short,  inclined  to  be  stout,  somewhat  flat-nosed.  His  small 
black  eyes  sparkle  merrily,  for  he  is  fond  of  a  joke.  He  is  an 
excellent  mimic,  cjuickly  scrapes  acquaintance  with  a  stranger, 
finds  out  his  weak  points  and  lets  them  be  seen.  A  slight 
moustache  may  adorn  his  face,  but  whiskers  and  beard  will  be 
scanty.  The  skin,  if  it  appears  at  all  through  the  layer  of  dirt, 
normal  in  the  case  of  the  uncivilized  heathen,  is  brownish,  yet 
not  so  dark  that  a  rosy  cheek  will  not  show.  He  arranges  his 
dress  to  suit  the  climate,  his  clothing  being  of  furs,  with 
trowsers  tucked  into  skin-boots,  and  his  shirt  having  a  hood 
that  can  be  drawn  over  the  head.  As  a  heathen  his  half-under- 
ground house  is  in  a  state  of  utter  filth,  he  himself  having  no 
aversion  to  dirt  or  to  noisome  smells.  Inclined  to  be  indolent, 
overeating  is  one  of  his  great  weaknesses,  provided  his  hunt 
has  been  a  success.  Extremely  superstitious,  and  peopling 
earth  and  air  and  water  with  evil  spirits,  he  is  at  the  mercy  of 
shrewd  witch-doctors,  the  atigckoks.  Of  morality  he  has  not 
an  overplus. 

Perhaps  two  thousand  such  natives  lived  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Xew  Herrnhut.  as  the  spot  was  named  where  the 
missionaries  built;  but  thev  at  first  confined  their  intercourse 


12  A    HISTORY    OF 

with  the  newcomers  to  attempts  at  begging  or  steaUng.  For 
the  missionaries  the  bjirrier  of  language  was  long  in  the  way—  -a 
most  difficult  agglutinative  type  of  speech.  Nor  could  Egede 
render  much  assistance,  for  his  knowledge  of  German  was  as 
limited  as  was  theirs  of  Scandinavian.  Moreover,  unfortunate 
misunderstandings  between  him  and  Christian  David  arose 
from  doctrinal  discussions,  so  that  the  Moravians  after  a  while 
became  completely  isolated.  Then  disasters  began  to  follow 
in  quick  succession.  Their  boat  drifted  out  to  sea.  Success 
in  fishing  and  hunting  was  meager.  If  better  housed  now  in 
a  wooden  dwelling,  the  materials  for  which  had  been  brought 
from  Denmark,  the  scanty  fare  which  they  could  secure  had  to 
be  won  by  laborious  spinning  of  flax  for  the  Danish  traders, 
and  before  long  that  means  of  livelihood  also  failed.  Then  came 
the  dreadful  small-pox,  introduced  by  a  native  who  had  visited 
Denmark.  Two  or  three  thousand  Eskimos  of  the  west  coast 
were  swept  away  by  it,  and  though  the  kind  attentions  of  the 
missionaries  broke  down  the  wall  of  prejudice  in  a  measure, 
no  heart  was  touched  by  the  gospel.  Later,  scurvy  partially 
disabled  the  missionaries  themselves,  who  at  this  juncture  owed 
much  to  Egede's  kindness.  Yet  they  labored  on  as  best  they 
could,  endeavoring  to  teach  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the 
Lord's  Prayer  to  those  who  would  listen — often  only  to  be 
VJJ!j>*-  laughed  at  for  their  pains. 
f^i  ..J  Their  numbers  were  recruited,  jri  1734,  by  the  arrival  of  Fred- 
^  )^^l  ^'^^^  Bohnisch  and  John  iBeck-  ,^  But  the  failure  of  supplies 
from  Europe,  and  the  scarcity  of  wild  fowl,  with  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  people  to  come  to  their  assistance,  again  reduced 
teem  to  sore  extremities.  Shell-fish  and  raw  sea-weed  became 
their  diet  for  da3'-s,  _and  had  it  not  been  for  the  piety  of  a 
heathen,  Ippegau,  on  a  visit  from  his  home,  forty  leagues  away, 
the  mission  might  have  come  to  a  tragic  end. 

Nevertheless,  at  a  conference  held  in  March,  1735,  though 
their  lives  were  at  the  time  threatened  by  hostile  savages,  they 
determined  that  John  Beck  and  Matthew  Stach  should  remain 
in  Greenland  for  the  rest  of  their  days,  in  spite  of  the  fruitless- 
ness  of  the  mission,  and  that  Christian  Stach  should  advocate 
the  cause  of  the  mission  when  temporarily  absent  in  Europe. 
Christian  David  had  been  sent  only  to  help  to  establish  the 
work,  not  to  remain  permanently.  Next  Egede,  whose  de- 
voted wife  had  died,  returned  to  Denmark,  but  there  for  some 


\\S^ 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  13 

years  trained  men  for  the  Danish  mission  in   Greenland.     In 
that  year  also  the  Moravian  mission  family  was  augmented  by^^   ^ 
><-^t1ie  arrival  of  Stach's  mother,  and  his  two  sisters,  Rosina  and  i 

•.    Anna,  who   subsequently   married   John   Beck   and    Frederick 
/* "Bohnisch.*     Not  until  May  7,  1736,  did  any  Greenlander  even 
make  inquiry  concerning  divine  truth;  and  the  first  convert, 
Mangek,  was  a  stranger  whom  the  persecutions  of  his  country- 
men rendered  unstable.  y^ 

On  June  2,  1738,  Kajarnak,^.  man  on  a  visit  from  the  south, 
was  structc"  w'l'th  the  story  of  the  agony  in  Gethsemane  and  on 
the  Cross,  and  eagerly  drank  in  the  words  of  salvation  preached 
to  him  by  John  Beck  in  response  to  his  questionings,  called 
forth  by  the  missionary's  reading  from  a  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  at  which  he  was  engaged.  In  a  voice  that 
trembled  with  emotion  he  asked,  "How  is  that?  Tell  me  that 
again ;  for  I,  too,  would  fain  be  saved."  His  baptism,  with  the 
name  Samuel,  and  that  of  his  wife  Anna,  his  son  Matthew  and 
his  daughter  Aima,  followed  on  Easter  Sunday,  1739.  But 
then  Satan  raged.  Kajarnak's  brother-in-law  was  murdered 
and  his  own  life  endangered.  He  had  to  leave  New  Herrnhut 
for  the  south.  Yet  he  remained  true  to  Christ  for  the  brief 
remainder  of  his  life,  and  testified  of  Him  to  his  countrymen. 
Carried  off  by  consumption  in  1741,  his  last  message  to  the 
missionaries  was  full  of  comfort,  "I  was  the  first  of  my  country- 
men who  found  the  Lord,  and  I  shall  be  the  first  of  them  to  go 
to  Him." 

The  harvest  had  commenced.  Soon  Arbalik,  baptized  Simon, 
took  Kajarnak's  place.  A  visit  paid  by  Bishop  Andrew  Gras- 
mann  to  New  Herrnhut  in  the  spring  of  1740,  and  a  visit  of 
Matthew  Stach  to  Europe,  whence  he  returned  in  1741,  both 
proved  influential  in  causing  the  missionaries  to  change  the 

*  Descendants  of  Anna  St.ich  have  continued  in  mission  service  in  unbroken  line. 
After  the  death  of  Frederick  Bohnisch  she  was  married  to  John  Zacharias.  and  with 
him  labored  in  Greenland  from  1765  to  1784.  Their  daughter,  Anna  Benigna,  in 
turn  married  John  Godfrey  Gorke,  and  served  in  the  same  country  from  1792  to 
1825.  Their  daughter,  Henrietta,  went  to  Labrador  in  1819  as  the  wife  of  John 
Lundberg,  and  served  many  years,  dying  at  Herrnhut  in  1S81.  Their  son,  John 
Eugene  Lundberg,  was  one  of  the  first  missionaries  on  the  Moskito  Coast,  where  he 
labored  for  thirty-three  years.  His  daughter,  soon  after  his  death  in  1881,  went  to 
the  Moskito  Coast  as  the  wife  of  Augustus  Hermann  Conrad  Berckenhagen,  dying 
there  in  i860,  whilst  her  brother,  Paul  Eugene  Lundberg,  entered  mission  service  in 
Labrador  in  1884,  where  he  is  still  active. 


zeal. 
v^   \pn  M 
^^yn^  tian  v( 


14  A    HISTORY    OF 

type  of  their  preaching,  and  make  it  less  legal,  more  Christo- 
centric,  and  with  more  pronounced  insistence  upon  the  possi- 
bility of  joyful  assurance  of  personal  salvation.  In  spite  of  the 
active  hostility  of  the  medicine  men,  the  number  of  converts 
now  rapidly  increased.  The  chapel  was  found  to  be  too  small 
for  the  congregation  of  about  200,  that  was  wont  to  assemble 
in  1745.  John  Beck,  on  furlough  in  Europe,  at  a  Synod  held 
at  Zeist,  pleaded  for  better  accommodations.  The  missionary 
ship,  Irene,  was  commissioned  to  convey  to  Greenland  a  frame 
church  in  sections,  and  Qhrisdan  David  was  sent  to  assisMn 
its  erection.  What  feelings  this  apostolic  man  must  have  had, 
when  on  October  28  John  Beck  consecrated  this  building  in  the 
presence  of  three  hundred  interested  Greenlanders ! 

For    ordinary    Christians   the   West    Indies    and    Greenland 

would  have   afforded   sufficient   scope   for  pent-up   missionary 

zeal.     Not  so  with  the  inspired  men  and  women  of  Herrnhut. 

rw^'^ -J^/Dn  March  7,  1735,  George  Piesch,  George  Berwig  and  Chris- 

'on  Larisch  left  for  SuririarrL';    Spangenberg  had  arranged 

'with  the  Dutch  Surinam  Company  the  terms  upon  which  the 

Brethren,  with  whom  he  had  been  fully  identified  for  about  two 

years,  might  make  a  settlement  in  that  country.     Their  primary 

purpose  was  a  preliminary  tour  of  exploration  with  a  view  to  a 

later   settlement.      Whilst   thus   engaged    Larisch   died.      The 

others  fulfilled  their  commission ;  and  this  led  to  the  starting  of 

the  mission  which  was  placed  on  a  permanent  basis  in  1745. 

Coincident  with  the  preparation  for  the  mission  in  Green- 
land, the  attention  of  Zinzendorf  and  the  Brethren  had  been 
drawn  to  the  religious  destitution  of  the  Lapps.  But  their 
missionaries,  after  setting  out,  learnt  that  a  Danish  mission 
had  been  begun  amongst  these  people  in  Norway.  Conse- 
quently Andrew  Grasmann,  Daniel  Schneider  and  John  Nitsch- 
mann,  junior,  were  instructed  to  go  to  the  Lapps  in  Sweden. 
Spending  the  winter  of  1734  in  Stockholm,  they  proceeded  to 
Tornea  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  and  thence  made 
their  way  inland.  Contrary  to  expectation,  they  found  the 
people  under  at  least  nominal  supervision  of  the  State  Church, 
and  therefore  withdrew. 

The  call  to  the  next  undertaking  came  in  1736,  a  year  of  di.«- 
tress  for  Zinzendorfj  but  it  was  nevertheless  undertaken.  It 
came  from  two  Reformed  pastors  in  Amsterdam,  Van  Alphen 
and  De  Bruyn.     They  had  been  much  moved  by  the  distressing 


MOR.WIA.V    MISSION'S.  I  5 

account  given  by  Ziegenbalg  and  Plijtschau,  the  founders  of  . 

the  mission  in  Tranquebar,  respecting  tlie  condition  of  theTloK  \  I  j  ^ 
tentots  at  the  ^ge  of  Good^T^SP.^  where  they  had  touched  on 
their  voyage  to  IncTia?  Tliough  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany had  sent  an  expedition  in  1652  under  Van  Kiebeek  to 
seize  the  Cape  as  a  base  of  supplies  for  their  fleet  en  route  to  the 
Orient,  and  though  refugee  Huguenots  had  flocked  thither 
after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  natives  had 
been  made  to  lead  a  sad  life.  Hottentots  and  Bushme.1i*  both  ' 
undersized  non-negroid  races,  the  former  naturally  indolent, 
living  in  low  dome-shaped  kraals,  shiftless  and  untidy,  yet  re- 
moved from  the  very  lowest  of  savages,  being  herdsmen  rather 
than  mere  hunters,  with  a  kinship  to  the  Malays,  if  high  cheek- 
bones, obli(|ue  eyes,  thin  beards  and  dull  yellow  complexion 
be  sure  signs,  or  to  the  old  Egyptians,  if  their  speech,  rich 
in  consonants  and  admitting  pronominal  suffixes,  afford  a  cor- 
rect index  of  affinity ;  the  latter  more  energetic,  but  having 
not  yet  reached  the  pastoral  stage,  living  by  the  chase — such 
as  they  were  they  had  been  treated  by  Dutch  and  Huguenots  as 
merely  superior  animals.  They  were  called  schcpscls — things, 
not  persons,  creations  of  Satan,  perhaps.  To  hunt  them  down, 
like  so  many  jackals,  was  deemed  no  crime.  To  enslave  them 
was  akin  to  conferring  a  favor.  But  the  slaves  were  not  taught 
the  religion  of  their  masters. 

As  soon  as  the  call  reached  Hcrrnhut.^ ^George  Sclimi(ltj_who 
although  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age  was  of  vigorous  and 
forceful  faith  and  had  spent  six  years  in  an  Austrian  prison 
for  conscience  sake,  volunteered  promptly,  and  was  ready  to 
start  for  Holland  within  a  week,  to  acquire  Dutch  prior  to 
sailing.  Zinzendorf  joined  him  a  few  days  later,  and  prepared 
the  way  in  Holland.  Through  the  intervention  of  Isaak 
Lelong,  and  the  Burgomaster  of  .Amsterdam,  Van  den  Bcmpen, 
and  Admiral  Schryvcr  and  Rath  van  Rumswinkel,  the  "Council 
of  Seventeen."  grantc<l  Schmidt  permission  to  sail  to  the  Cape. 
He  left  on  March  17  and  reached  Cape  Town  on  J.' lb"  9.  17J7- 
At  first  he  settled  amongst  the  Hottentots  in  Zoetemelksvallei, 
on  the  Zon(lereind  River,  not  far  from  a  military  po.st  of  the 
Trading  Company.  But  in  April  of  the  next  year,  owing  to 
the  bad  influence  of  this  post,  it  seemed  wise  to  remove  three 
hours'  journey  farther.  Xow  a  secluded  valley  was  selected, 
known   as   Baviaanskloof.      Here  he  gatlurn!   a   school  num- 


1 6  A    HISTORY    OF 

bering  about  fifty.  Besides  the  white  Sergeant,  Kampen,  two 
natives,  Africo  and  Kybodo,  who  had  accompanied  him  from 
Cape  Town,  and  one  Willem,  were  soon  jwon  for  Christ. 
Whilst  on  a  visit  to  Cape  Town,  in  June,  1738,  to  his  delight 
Schmidt  met  David  Nitschmann,  the  Syndic,  and  Dr.  EUer, 
missionaries  of  the  Brethren's  Church  on  their  way  to  Ceylon. 
They  brought  him  news  of  most  serious  opposition  which  had 
broken  out  in  Holland.  Domine  Kulenkamp's  Hirtenbrief,  i.  e., 
pastoral  letter,  which  had  aroused  such  deep_  aniniosity  against 
the  Moravians  there,  was  soon  circulated  in  the  colony  also, 
and  Schmidt  began  to  feel  the  efifects.  Still  he  persevered,  and 
baptized  his  first  convert,  Willem,  on  March  31,  1742.  Within 
a  month  four  other  Hottentots  were  baptized.  The  Reformed 
pastors  in  Cape  Town  were  provoked  at  this,  denying  the  valid- 
ity of  Schmidt's  orders,  acting  as  he  did  only  by  written  com.- 
mission,  sent  for  two  of  the  Hottentots,  catechised  them,  and 
sent  them  back  to  Schmidt  with  a  good  testimonial.  In  August, 
1743,  Schmidt  himself  was  summoned  to  Holland  to  report 
and  await  decision  as  to  the  validity  of  his  proceedings.  He 
left  behind  a  congregation  of  forty-seven  Hottentots,  had  been 
the  means  of  leading  thirty-nine  whites  to  Christ,  and  bore  with 
him  complimentary  testimonials  from  Sergeant  Martinssen, 
the  commander  of  the  neighboring  post,  from  Captain  Rhenius, 
and  from  Governor  Sollengebel.  He  reached  Texel  on  June 
17,  1744.  But  when,  next  year,  Zinzendorf  asked_  permission 
for  his  return,  although  the  request  was  seconded  by  various 
persons  of  influence,  it  was  refused. 

Whilst  Schmidt  was  laboring  to  overcome  the  prejudices  of 
whites  and  reach  heathen  hearts  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
continent,  another  undertaking  was  inaugurated  on  the  west 
coast  of  Africa.  In  Copenhagen  in  the  year  1735  Zinzendorf 
met  a  mulatto  from  the  Quinea  Coast^  Christian  Jacob  Protten, 
who  had  been  taken  to  Denmark  against  his  will,  and  had 
there  become  a  Christian  and  had  studied  theology.  This  man 
returned  to  Herrnhut  with  him,  and  next  year  volunteered  to 
go  to  his  own  people  at  Fort  George  de  la  Mina,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Dutch  traders,  known  also  as  Delmian  or  El- 
mina.  The  offer  was  accepted.  With  him  volunteered  Hjnry_ 
HuckofT,  a  native  of  Moravia.  Armed  with  a  letter  to  the 
Governor,  they  sailed  from  Holland.  But  whilst  they  were  en- 
deavoring to  establish  a  school  near  Delmina,  JHuckoff_jiie4  of 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  \j 

fever,  on  June  17,  1737.  Protten,  who  seems  to  have  been 
unsuited  to  the  work,  and  who  was  in  danger  of  being  appre- 
hended as  a  i^nawax^slaye^  met  with  no  success,  and  was  re- 
called in  1741.  "*■ 

Yet  another  African  land  was  to  be  the  depository  of  a  mis- 
sionary's heroism.  Abraham  Ehrcnfried  Richtcr  was  in  early 
life  a  prosperous  merchant  of  Stralsund.  After  Zinzendorf's 
stay  in  that  city  in  1734  he  joined  the  Brethren,  and  was  en- 
gaged in  evangelistic  labor  in  western  Germany  and  amongst 
the  Germans  of  London.  Whilst  passing  through  Amsterdam 
on  his  return  from  that  city,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Ad- 
miral Schryver.  who  described  to  him  the  rejigious  destitution 
~L-y^?~^^n^!:'^lLi^2iyes  in  /Algeria';  With  him  to  realize  their 
need  was  equivalent  to  a  call  to  minister  to  them.  The  authori- 
ties of  the  church  approved  of  his  determination,  and  he  set 
out  via  Marseilles  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1739,  arriving 
at  Aj^ers  on  February  11,  1740.  Letters  of  recoTmiiendalion 
from  Holland  to  the  Dutch  Consul  Paravicini  led  this  official 
to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Dey  to  his  becoming  the  religious 
teacher  of  the  Christian  slaves.  In  ^Lirch  the  plague  broke 
out  amongst  them,  but  Richter  fearlessly  continued  his  minis- 
trations. In  consequence  he  himself  fell  a  victim  on  July  10. 
lamented  by  many.  Consul  Paravicini  testifying  his  esteem  in  a 
report  dispatched  soon  afterwards. 

In  1737  and  1738  .Vndrew  Grasmann,  Daniel  Schneider,  and 
Michael  Miksch  attempted  to  tn^ngelize  in  Rii|^]^  e^pprinlly 
amongst  the  S,g,ijxaxiid£5-^nd  other  heathen  tribes  on  the  shores 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  For  this  purpose  they  journeyed  by  way 
of  Reval  to  Archangel,  but  were  arrest*^  on  the  charge  of  bein^ 
Swedish  spies.  After  an  imprisonment  of  five  weeks  in  solitary 
confinement,  they  were  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  under  escort  of 
three  soldiers.  On  the  way  two  of  these  guards  broke  through 
the  ice  whilst  crossing  a  frozen  lake,  and  were  rescued  by  their 
prisoners.  Their  innocence  having  been  established  by  an  ex- 
amination at  St.  Petersburg,  they  were  returned  to  Germany  by 
sea  via  Liibeck.  with  the  statement  that  their  services  were  not 
at  present  needed. 

.According  to  Zinzendorf's  plans  Schmidt's  labor  at  the  Cape 
was_toJhave  served  as  a  link  with(Ceyl3n.     C^ylonmightbe^ 
come  the  door  to  the  East  IndPes,  and  d  ciTain  of  connections 
might  thence  be  established  with  missions  in  Mongolia  and  Pcr- 
3 


Jvv.y 
/",  .■■ — 

18  A    HISTORY    OF 

sia.  Such  was  the  comprehensive  nature  of  his  designs.  In 
1740,  therefore,  the  missionaries  whom  Schmidt  met  in  Cape 
Town,  inaugurated  a  mission  in  CejJ[Qn,  then  a  Dutch  posses- 
sion. At  first  the  Governor,  Von  Imhofif,  and  WetzeHus,  the 
senior  clergyman  of  the  colony,  lent  their  countenance,  friends 
were  gained,  and  at  Mogurugampelle  converts  began  to  be 
won.  But  the  prejudices  aroused  by  the  Hirtenbrief  completely 
changed  the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  although  WetzeHus  stood  by 
the  Brethren  in  a  few  months  the  work  had  to  be  relinquished  on 
account  of  the  persistent  opposition  of  the  colonial  authorities 
and  the  other  representatives  of  the  Dutch  clergy,  at  the  very 
time  when  it  had  begun  to  prosper.  Thus  hampered  in  Ceylon, 
Nitschmann  and  EUer  desired  to  cross  over  to  the  Malabar 
islands,  but  this  the  Governor  forbade,  stigmatizing  them  as 
heretics  whose  work  was  not  to  be  tolerated. 

This  period  was  also  distinguished  by  the  inception  of  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Indians  and  Negroes  of  the  American  Colonies 
in  1735  and  1738;  a  work  directly  linked  with  the  founding 
of  the  Moravian  Church  in  America. 

The  significance  of  this  world-wide  missionary  movement,  in 
connection  with  the  extensive  itinerations  in  European  lands 
appears,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  entire  congregation 
at  Herrnhut  in  1732  numbered  only  about  six  hundred,  and  that 
many  of  its  members  were  very  poor,  that  the  means  of  trans- 
portation and  the  maintenance  of  communications  were  ex- 
cessively meager,  and  the  difficulties  in  the  way  prodigious.  It 
is  significant  also  that  the  majority  of  the  missionary  pioneers 
were  Moravians  by  birth..  It  was  the  "witness  spirit"  brought 
from  lands  of  persecution  and  martyrdom,  that  gave  impetus  to 
the  movement.  Indeed  in  August,  1733,  the  people  of  Herrnhut 
were  divided  into  two  classes,  former  members  of  the  evan- 
gelical church  who  might  stay  at  home,  and  the  descendants  of 
the  Bohemian-Moravian  Brethren,  who  were  expected  to  fur- 
nish men  willing  to  become  "pilgrims"  or  heralds  of  the  church 
of  God  throughout  the  world. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS,      f^         ,  •19 


'^^  CHAPTHR  II. 


-^ 


Tin-:    MISSIONS    on    the    north    AMERICAN    CONTINENT    PRIOR    TO 

1760. 

When  Spangenber^  secured  grants  of  land  from  the  Trustees 
of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  the-  design  was  not  only  to  prepare  a 
place  of  refuge  in  case  the  Saxon  government  should  banish  the 
people  of  Herrnhut,  but  also  to  commence  missions  amongst 
the  Creeks  and  Cherokees.  Savannah  w^s  reached  by  the  first  "  'Ja^ 
company  of  Moravians  on  February  ^7ZS.i,^,\.x^Mud.Mij<  l'^<>  ^^^^ /^ 

Before  long  a  school  for  Indian  children  was  established  on'  0''^^^^\^ 
the  island  of  Irene,  about  five  miles  above  the  town.  »*t** 

In  connection  with  the  colony  in  Georgia  a  mission  amongst' 
the  slaves  in  South  Carolina  was  also  projected,  and  met  with  /^'  . 
the  approval  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  PeterJBohler,  ' 
a  young  man  of  twenty-six,  an  ex-student_of  Jena,  received  the 
appointment  to  begin  this  enterprise.  His  ordination,  on  De- 
cember 15,  1737,  was  Zinzendorf's  first  exercise  of  episcopal 
functions.  On  his  way  to  America  in  the  early  part  of  I73<S  he 
spent  some  time  in  England,  a  period  critical  in  the  spiritual 
experience  of  the  Wesleys,  who  were  aided  by  him  to  the  clear 
apprehension  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  and  to  personal  assur- 
ance of  salvation — a  visit  also  of  prime  importance  in  con- 
nection with  the  commencement  of  the  Brethren's  Church  in 
England.  Arriving  at  Savannah  onQctober  15.  1738,  Bolder 
shortly  afterwards  began  a  mission  at  Purysburg,  in  South 
Carolina,  a  German  settlement  founded  in  ^ZZ~  ^"  t^'s  effort 
he  was  assisted  by  his  friend  George  Schulius  and  by  young 
David  Zeisbcrger.  Every  Sunday  they  preached  to  the  Ger- 
man inhabitants  of  tlie  ti)wn,  and  in  the  week  visited  the 
negroes  in  the  vicinity  and  instructed  them  in  the  gospel.  But 
when  the  warm  weather  came  Bolder  fell  ill,  and  was  brought 
to  the  point  of  death.  He  had  not  fully  recovered  when  Schu- 
lius  took  sick,  and  after  eighteen  days  died,  July  24.  1739. 
Amidst   many  privations,   faithfully  nursed  by  young  Zcisbcr- 


n 


20  A    HISTORY    OF 

ger,  Bohler  continued  at  his  post,  until  the  difficulties  in  which 
the  Spanish  War  involved  his  brethren  at  Savannah  con- 
strained him  to  remove  to  that  place.  Even  prior  to  this  the 
Moravian  colony  in  Georgia  was  in  a  languishing  condition. 
It  had  dwindled  from  thirty  persons  to  twelve  in  consequences 
of  disagreements  as  well  as  the  political  disturbances.  Some 
of  the  settlers  had  died,  others  had  returned  to  Europe,  and 
others  had  gone  to  Pennsylvania  independently.  When  the 
Spaniards  of  Florida  prepared  to  invade  Georgia,  and  the 
Moravians  were  required  to  take  up  arms  in  its  defense,  a  con- 
flict of  duties  had  arisen,  for  like  the  Friends  they  were  then 
non-combatants.  Finally,  when  only  five  men  and  one  woman 
and  one  boy  remained,  they  determined  to  go  to  Pennsylvania. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1740,  George  Whitefieid  arrived  in  Geor- 
gia for  the  second  time.  At  Savannah  great  crowds  flocked 
to  hear  him,  and  extraordinary  scenes  of  excitement  follovvcd. 
JJK  j\-as  the  commencement  of  the  "Great  Awakening^,"  When 
about  to  leave  for  Pennsylvania  he  offered  Bohler  and  his 
friends  a  passage  on  board  his  sloop.  This  ofi'er  they  gladly 
accepted,  and  sailing  from  Savannah  on  y\pril  13  arrived  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  25th.  In  Georgia  and  Carolina  they  had 
made  several  warm  friends,  some  of  whom  followed  them  later 
to  Pennsylvania  and  became  identified  with  the  work  of  the 
church — John  Brownfield,  James  Burnside,  Henry  F.  Beck  and 
Abraham  Biininger  amongst  the  rest.  They  had  expected  to 
find  both  Spangenberg  and  Bishop  Nitschmann  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  were  greatly  disappointed  to  learn  that  the  former 
had  left  and  that  the  latter  had  not  yet  arrived. 

When  on  the  point  of  dispersing  Bohler  kept  them  together 
and  found  eniplo3'ment  for  them,  deeming  it  their  duty  to 
await  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Nitschmann,  who  had  been  com- 
missioned by  a  synod  at  Marienborn  in  November  of  the  pre- 
vious year  to  lead  a  colony  to  Pennsylvania,  in  consequence 
of  Spangenberg's  representations. 

George  Whitefieid,  with  the  aid  of  William  Seward,  of  Lon- 
don, had  purchased  five  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  Forks 
of  the  Delaware,  the  present  Northampton  County,  in  order 
to  erect  a  scboql Jor  negroes  and  to  found  a  village  for  Eng- 
lishmen in  danger  from  tlie  harsh  la\VS  against  insolvent 
debtors.  Since  a  number  of  the  Moravians  were  carpenters, 
he  offered  to  engage  them  to  do  all  the  carpenter  work  and 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  21 

desired  Bohler  to  superintend  the  entire  erccticjn  of  the  pri)- 
jected  building.  Tliis  offer  was  acepted.  After  a  toilsome 
journey  of  three  days  on  foot  into  the  Indian  country  south 
of  the  P>lue  Mountains  the  company  of  seven  men,  two  women 
and  two  boys  reached  Nazareth,  as  Whitefield  had  named  his 
tract,  on  May  30,  and  'h^Td  tlfeTr  first  rehgious  service  there 
under  a  noble  oak.  Two  days  later  the  conunissioncrs  sent  by 
Whitefield  marked  off  the  spot  v.here  the  house  was  to  be 
built,  on  a  gentle  hill  commanding  a  noble  view  of  rolling  for- 
ests to  the  distant  valley  of  the  Delaware  eastward.  Having 
put  up  a  log-house  for  themselves,  the  Moravians  began  to 
build  Whitefield's  school.  But  in  November  they  were  placed 
in  a  position  of  jeopardy.  When  Bohler  went  to  Philadelphia 
to  report  to  his  employer  in  November,  the  latter  led  the  con- 
versation into  a  discussion  of  controverted  points  of  dpctrju^, 
/ffedes'tmafToframongst  the  rest.  UnaBte  to  make  Bohler  yield 
uTc  Moravians'  position  of  free  grace,  and  stirred  up  as  he 
already  was  by  the  prejudices  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian§  who 
were  the  Moravians'  nearest  neighbors,  he  gave  way  to  an 
unworthy  fit  of  temper,  and  ordered  Bohler  and  his  x)eople  tcu 
leave  his  land  forthwith.  But  this  was  out  of  the  question,  as 
winter  was  at  hand.  The  friendly  interposition  of  Justice  Na- 
thaniel Irish,  of  Saucon,  the  agent  of  William  Allen  from  whom 
Whitefield  had  made  his  purchase,  secured  a  temporary  stay  of 
the  sentence.  Providentially,  too.  .\ndrew  Eschenbach,  who 
had  been  sent  by  Zinzendorf  to  labor  amongst  the  Germans  of 
Pennsylvania  and  had  arrived  in  October,  had  brought  word 
that  he  would  soon  be  followed  by  Bishop  Nitschmann  and  a 
company  of  Brethren. 

"TThis  party  now  came  in  the  nick  of  time,  the  latter  part  of 
December,  1740.  Besides  the  bishop  it  consisted  of  his  uncle, 
okf^atlier  Nitschmann,"  of  Zauchtenthal.  and  his  datightcr, 
Anna,  the  former  leader  of  the  single  women  of  Herrnhut,  Mrs. 
Molther,  whose  husband  was  at  present  active  in  London,  and 
Christian  Frolich.  ajipointed  a  missionary  to  the  Indians.  Hav- 
ing entered  into  negotiations  with  various  other  persons,  the 
bishop  finally  purchased  five  hundred  acres  at  the  junction  of 
the  Lehigh  and  the  Monocacy  from  William  .Mien,  through 
Justice  Irish.  Before  this  purchase  had  been  actually  consum- 
mated the  Moravians  on  Whitefield's  tract,  taking  it  for  granted 
V       that  the  land  on  the  Lehigh  would  be  bought,  began  to  fell  tim- 


22  A    HISTORY    OF 

ber  where  Bethlehem  now  stands.     In  the  early  spring  of  1741 
^■^  a  log-house  was  completed,  and  in  it  lived  the  founders  of  Beth- 
lehemr  ' 

When  the  tract  on  the  Lehigh  was  purchased,  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains and  the  Susquehanna  practically  formed  the  northern  and 
western  boundaries  of  the  Proprietaries'  domains  actually  oc- 
cupied by  settlers.  Trackless  and  unbroken  primeval  forests  for 
the  most  part  dominated  the  territory  beyond,  save  where  here 
and  there  around  Indian  villages  corn  waved  in  the  summer  and 
orchards  rejoiced  in  their  russet  glow  in  autumn.  Even  ^^outh 
of  the  Blue  Mountains  the  original  masters  of  the  woods  and 
streams  were  reluctant  to  abandon  what  the  settlers  gained  by 
the  cunning  of  the  "Walking  Purchase." 

Here  Spangenberg  had  spent  three  years  after  his  stay  in 
Georgia.  His  observations  had  included  the  following  declara- 
tions :  "Thus  there  is  now  a  two-fold  work  for  the  Brethren 
who  shall  go  thither  in  pursuance  of  the  Lord's  will :  the  gospel 
may  be  preached  to  many  thousands  who  know  nothing  of  it, 
or  who  have  an  indescribable  hunger  for  it ;  and  the  awakened 
who  are  desirous  for  fellowship  must  be  gathered  into  congre- 
gations. And  this  is  not  the  work  for  one  man,  but  for  many. 
Moreover  there  are  the  Indians,  who  do  not  willingly  dwell  near 
the  Europeans;  for  them  it  may  be  that  the  hour  of  grace  has 
sounded.  And  in  the  whole  country  there  are  few  schools,  and 
there  is  almost  no  one  who  makes  the  youth  his  concern.  One 
may  indeed  see  signs  of  a  waking  up  here  and  there  in  the  land ; 
and  it  is  often  not  otherwise  than  if  a  wind  from  the  Lord  was 
passing  through  the  entire  land  and  bringing  all  into  movement 
and  the  spirit  of  inquiry.  But  since  the  affair  is  so  extensive 
every  one  considers  himself  lacking  in  ability  to  take  it  in  hand. 
Perhaps  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  in  this."  This  report  led  to  tlie 
mission  amongst  the  Indians. 
_^3jt,ftVIn   December,__^i74J,   Zinzendorf   himself   came    to   America 

>^ith    the"'nol)le    ambition    of   furthering   the   interests    of   the 
Kingdom    of   God,   irrespective    of   denominational    Hues.      In 

,the  latter  half  of  the  next  year  he  made  three  visits  to  the 
Indian  country.  The  first  of  these,  July  24  to  August  7, 
was  to  the  region  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains.  The  most  im- 
ortant  event  in  connection  with  this  journey  was  an  interview 
with  the  deputies  of  the  Six  Nations  at  the  house  of  Conrad 
^iVeiss^r,  the  interpreter  for  the  government,   at   Heidelberg. 


f^&  *K^<r*<^  O'-^^A'   f^UOkxWU^   MISSIONS.      "    ¥^ »    ^  H  23 

These  Indians  were  on  their  way  back  from  an  interview  with 
Governor  Thomas,  at  which  an  important  subject  of  negotia- 
tions had  been  the  persistent  stay  of  the  Delawares  within  the 
"Forks"  south  of  the  Bhie  Mountains,  on  land  which  was  to 
have  been  vacated  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  "Walk- 
ing Purchase."  Zinzendorf,  as  the  head  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  now  ratified  a  covenant  of  friendship  with  these  In- 
dians, securing  permission  for  the  Brethren  to  pass  to  and  from 
and  sojourn  within  the  domains  of  the  great  Iroquois  confed- 
eration as  friends  and  not  as  strangers.  Thus  a  door  was 
opened  amongst  the  most  influential  tribes  of  the  Atlantic  slope. 

The  second  joujrney  was  to  Shekomeko^  in  Dutchess  County, 
New  Yoricl  AT  this  place  a  mission  had  been  established  in 
1740.  Christian  Henry  Ranch  had  arrived  in  response  to  the 
appeal  of  Spangenberg,  and  had  accompanied  certain  Mohicans 
from  the  seaport  to  their  home  about  twenty-five  miles  east  of 
the  Hudson,  on  the  borders  of  Connecticut  and  near  Stissik 
Mountain.  In  spite  of  the  danger  from  their  knives  and  toma- 
hawks when  intoxicated,  he  had  persevered,  and  had  the  grati- 
fication of  baptizing  the  first  three  converts  at  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod  at  Oley  in  February,  1742.  Zinzendorf,  on  August  22, 
now  organized  a  congregation  at  Shekomeko,  consisting  of  ten 
Indian  converts ;  and  he  also  perfected  arrangements  for  serving 
the  white  settlers  of  the  vicinity  with  the  gospel. 

The  thirdjpurney,  September  24  to  November  9.  was  from 
Bethlehem  to  Shamokin.  now  Sunbury,  and  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley. It  has  been  thought  that  his  was  the  first  party  of  white 
people  to  view  this  gem  of  Pennsylvania  scenery.  As  a  mis- 
sionary tour  this  journey  was  of  Httle  result,  chiefly  owing  to 
the  notorious  Madame  Montour,  whose  services  were  required 
as  interpreter.  It  was  attended  with  many  adventures  and 
dangers.  On  one  occasion,  whilst  Zinzendorf  was  stooping 
over  some  papers  spread  out  upon  the  ground,  two  spreading 
adders  passed  over  his  person  without  injuring  him;  but  this 
did  not  prevent  the  Indians  from  attempting  the  murderous 
attack  which  they  had  planned,  as  fable  states.  The  treacherous 
design  was  hindered  by  the  providential  arrival  of  Conrad 
Weisser. 

In  the  latter  part  of  October.  1744.  Spangenberg,  conse- 
crated a  bishop  at  Marienborn  on  June  15,  came  to  take  charge 
of  the  entire  field  of  operations  in  America,  relieving  Bohler, 


24 


A    HISTORY    OF 


who  returned  to  Europe.     It  was  an  exceedingly  wide  sphere, 
embracing  the  most  diversified  duties. 

In  addition  to  the  supervision  of  the  itineracy,  he  superintended 
the  missions  amongst  the  Indians,  and  to  a  considerable  extent 
also  made  provision  for  the  work  in  the  West  Indies  and  in 
Surinam.  Besides  he  directed  the  economic  life  and  enterprises 
of  the  settlements  at  Nazareth  and  Bethlehem,  and  presided 
over  all  the  undertakings  controlled  by  the  "Pennsylvania 
Synod." 

The  Indian  mission  alone  made  heavy  demands  upon  his  time. 
Ranch's  commencement   of  operations   had   given   omen  of  a 
fine  future.     Landing  in  New  York,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
two,  on  July  i6,  1740,  he  had  unexpectedly  met  Frederick  Mar- 
tin, on  a  visit  from  St.  Thomas,  who  introduced  him  to  Christian 
friends.     Certain  Mohicans  having  business  with  the  Governor 
and  acquainted  with  the  Dutch  language,  permitted  him  to  go 
with  them  on  their  return  home  to  Shekomeko,  which  he  reached 
on  August  16.     Results  were  not  long  delayed.    Wasamapa,  the 
fourth  of  his  converts,  and  previously  a  drunken  ruffian,  thus 
described  his  mode  of  preaching:     "Brethren,  I  have  been  a 
heathen,  and  have  grown  old  among  the  heathen;  therefore  I 
know  how  the  heathen  think.     Once  a  preacher  came  and  began 
to  explain  that  there  was  a  God.     We  answered,  'Dost  thou 
think  us  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  that?     Go  to  the  place 
whence  thou  camest !'     Then  another  preacher  came  and  began 
to  teach  us,  and  to  say,  'You  must  not  steal,  nor  lie,  nor  get 
drunk,  and  so  forth.'     We  answered:    'Thou  fool,  dost  thou 
think  that  we  do  not  know  that?     Learn  first  thyself,  and  then 
teach  the  people  to  whom  thou  belongest,  to  leave  ofif  these 
things;  for  who  steal  or  lie,  or  who  are  more  drunken  than 
thine  own  people?"     And  thus  we  dismissed  him.     After  some 
time  Brother  Christian  Henry  Ranch  came  into  my  tent,  and  sat 
down  by  me.     He  spoke  to  me  nearly  as  follows:     'I  come  to 
you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth ;  He  sends  to 
let  you  know  that  He  will  make  you  happy  and  deliver  you 
from  this  misery  in  which  you  lie  at  present.     To  this  end  He 
became  a  man  and  gave  His  life  a  ransom  for  man,  and  shed 
His  blood  for  him..'     When  he  had  finished  his  discourse,  he  lay 
down  upon  a  board,  fatigued  by  the  journey,  and  fell  into  a 
sound  sleep.     I  then  thought:     'What  kind  of  a  man  is  this? 
There  he  lies  and  sleeps:  I  might  kill  him  and  throw  him  out 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


-3 


into  the  road,  and  who  would  regard  it?  But  this  gives  him 
no  concern.'  However  I  could  not  forget  his  words.  They 
constantly  recurred  to  my  mind.  Even  when  I  was  asleep,  I 
dreamt  of  that  blood  which  Christ  shed  for  us.  I  found  this  to 
be  something  different  from  what  I  had  ever  heard,  and  I  in- 
terpreted Cristian  Henry's  words  to  the  other  Indians.  Thus 
through  the  Grace  of  God,  an  awakening  took  place  amongst  us. 
I  say,  therefore,  brethren,  preach  Christ  our  Saviour  and  His 
sufferings  and  death,  if  you  will  have  your  words  to  gain  en- 
trance amongst  the  heathen." 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  congregation  at  Sheko- 
meko  the  power  of  the  gospel  made  itself  felt  in  the  neighboring 
villages  of  Pachgatgoch  and  Wecliquadnach.  The  fame  of  the 
changed  life  of  Wasamapa,  formerly  fierce  as  a  savage  bear,  now 
lamb-like,  brought  Indians  to  Shekomeko  from  places  more  than 
a  day's  journey  distant.  Example  preached  effectively.  Soon 
the  thirst  for  truth  made  it  imperative  that  Ranch  should  receive 
assistance.  Gottlob  Biittner,  John  Martin  Macjv,  Pyrlaeus  and 
Senseman,  the  two  latter  married  men,  came  to  extend  opera- 
tions into  Connecticut.  At  Potatik  whites  as  well  as  Indians 
attended  Mack's  preaching;  at  Pachgatgoch  Biittner  was  glad- 
dened by  numerous  conversions  of  savages.  Next  Ranch  vis- 
ited the  vicinity  of  Albany,  Schoharie  and  Canajoharie;  and 
Pyrlaeus,  who  had  previously  spent  three  months  with  Conrad 
Weisser  studying  Indian  dialects,  with  his  wife  removed  into 
the  Iroquois  country  to  perfect  his  knowledge  of  their  speech. 
By  the  end  of  the  year  1743  Shekomeko  alone  reckoned  sixty- 
three  baptized  Indians. 

But  next  spring  the  opposition  of  unscrupulous  whites  came 
to  a  head.  Liquor-sellers  in  particular,  whose  occupation  was 
seriously  affected  by  the  progress  of  the  gospel  amongst  the  In- 
dians, stirred  up  false  reports,  and  circulated  the  story  that  the 
Moravians  were  Papists  in  disguise  and  secret  emissaries  of 
the  French  in  Canada.  When  required  to  clear  themselves  by 
oaths  of  allegiance  to  King  George  they  begged  to  be  excused 
from  this  because  contrary  to  their  conscientious  convictions, 
but  declared  their  willingness  to  solemnly  affirm  what  was  de- 
manded. But  the  Assembly  in  September  made  the  oath  of 
allegiance  obligatory,  and  also  imposed  a  license  on  "vagrant 
preachers,  Moravians  or  disguised  Papists,"  on  pain  of  a  fine 
of  forty  pounds  and  six  months'  imprisonment,  with  expulsion 


26  A    HISTORY    OF 

from  the  colony  on  repetition  of  the  offense.  In  consequence 
of  this,  when  Frederick  Post  and  David  Zeisberger  went  to 
Canajoharie,  to  Learn  the  Maqua  language,  they  were  arrested 
and  brought  to  New  York  on  February  22,  1745,  and  on  refus- 
ing to  take  any  oath  suffered  in  jail  for  seven  weeks,  until  Gov- 
ernor Thomas,  of  Pennsylvania,  interposed  in  their  behalf. 

This  attitude  of  the  authorities  of  New  York  caused  the 
Brethren  in  Bethlehem  to  determine  on  a  removal  of  the  mis- 
sion to  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  beyond  the  settlements  of 
the  colonists ;  and  in  order  to  secure  the  assent  of  the  great 
confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations  then  dominant  on  the  Atlantic 
slope,  Bishop  vSpangenberg,  with  the  missionaries  Zeisberger 
and  Schebosch  and  the  interpreter  Conrad  Weisser  undertook 
an  arduous  and  perilous  journey  to  Onondaga,  the  chief  town 
of  the  Iroquois  league.  The  treaty  made  with  Zinzendorf  three 
years  before  was  solemnly  renewed,  and  permission  granted  for 
a  settlement  at  Wyoming  on  the  Susquehanna.  But  contrary 
to  expectations  the  converts  at  Shekomeko  declined  to  remove 
until  compelled  by  their  hostile  white  neighbors.  And  the 
French  rendered  Wyoming  unsafe.  Therefore  after  a  tempo- 
rary stay  of  the  converted  Indians  near  Bethlehem,  they  were 
settled  on  a  tract  of  land  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains,  beside 
the  Mahoni^where  it  adds  its  tribute  of  waters  to  the  Lehigh. 
Tins  land  had  been  purchased  for  the  founding  of  a  Christian 
.^-village,  and  here  in  1746  the  mission  church  and  a  circle  of 
dwellings  arose,  receiving  the  name  of  Gnadenhiitten.  Gover- 
nor Thomas  lent  his  approval  to  the  undertaking-,  and  it  is 
stated  that  by  the  year  1748  the  number  of  converts  in  the  care 
of  the  mission  reached  the  respectable  total  of  five  hundred. 

During  the  years  1746  to  1748  an  outpost  was  also  estab- 
lished at  Shamokin  (Sunbury)  by  Martin  Mack,  Joseph  Powell, 
John  Hagen  and  Anthony  Schmidt,  at  the  request  of  Chief 
Shikelimy. 

Evangelistic  and  missionary  activity  so  extensive,  and  carried 
on  by  settlements  which  together  did  not  number  more  than 
six  hundred  people,  could  have  been  maintained  by  no  ordinary 
methods.  Capacity  to  support  this  work  is  explained  by  the 
adoption  of  a  religico-communal  system  of  life,  which  was,  how- 
ever, not  based  upon  communistic  convictions  as  usually  under- 
stood by  political  economists.  These  arrangements  arose  grad- 
ually, and  took  special  form  after  J7^.^    They  were  not  adopted 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


with  the  design  of  retaining  them  permanently,  or  from   llie 
notion  that  they  were  the  ideal  for  normal  Christian  society. 
They  were  rather  conceived  with  a  view  to  develop  as  quicklj^ 
as  possible  the  resources  of  the  new  settlement  in  a  manner 
(^oofdmate  with  the  utmost  employment  of  the  latent  power  of 
the  congregation  for  evangelism.     Partly  from  lack  of  house- 
room  in  the  beginning,  and  partly  from  the  necessity  of  self- 
dependence  in  relation  to  the  church  in  Europe  at  the  conj- 
mencement  of  pioneer  life,  the  family  as  an  institution  was  made 
secondary  to  the  requirements  of  the  congregation.     This  ten- 
dency was  strengthened  by  the  choir-system  which  coincident 
with  the  colonization  in  Pennsylvania  began  throughout  the 
Unity  to  take  the  place  of  more  customary  provisions  for  the 
close  care  and  cure  of  souls.     A  coiiiniunity  of  labor  rather  than    l 
of  property,  coupled  with  an  extreme  application  of  the  division 
oTlhe  members  according  to  age,  sex  and  condition  in  life  as 
married  or  single,  each  choir  living  apart,  was   fundamental. 
He  who  had  property  retained  it  if  he  chose;  but  all  placed 
their  time,  talents  and  labor  at  the  disposal  of  the  church.     No. 
private  enterprises  were  carried  on.     Every  business  and  manu- 
facture, and  all  real   estate  belonged  to  the  church.       Every 
branch  of  industry  came  under  the  supervision  of  committees 
responsible  to  a  board  of  direction,  the  Aufschcr  Collegium,  of 
which  Spangenberg  was  chairman.     The  result  was  the  estab- 
lishment and  successful  prosecution  of  at  least  thirty;twg,mdus2_ ^ 
tries,  apart  from  a  number  of  farrns,  by  the  year  1747.     The 
duties  of  each  person  were  assigned  to  him  by  the  central  com- 
mittee of  managers,  who  made  a  study  of  his  capacities.     In 
return  each  person  received  the  necessaries  of  life  and  a  home. 
With  all  its  defects,  chief  of  which  was  its  overlooking  the  fact 
that  the  family  is  a  divine  institution  even  more  ancient  tlian 
the  church,  this  "Econoniy'_]^  in  its  day  served  its  purpose  re- 
markably.      No  towirth  the"  interior  of  Pennsylvania  could  at   | 
this  time  so  efficiently  minister  to  the  varied  wants  of  travelers    . 
or  of  neighboring  settlers.     About  fifty  evangelists  and  minis- 
ters were  supported,  and  about  fifteen  schools  maintained,  and 
the  traveling  expenses  provided  for  missionaries  to  the  West 
Indies  and  Surinam.     Instead  of  requiring  grants  from  Europe  '. 
as  a  missionarv  province  of  the  church,  after  the  financial  em- 
barrassments in  Germany,  Holland  and  England  in  the  fifties 
Pennsylvania  could  send  money  to  help  to  make  good  the  losses. 


28  A    HISTORY    OF 

And,  not  least,  a  race  of  men  and  women  was  nurtured  who 
did  not  count  their  hves  dear,  but  held  themselves  in  readiness 
for  any  arduous  undertaking  that  would  further  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  Spangenberg  testified  that,  when  word  reached 
Bethlehem  concerning  the  death  of  the  missionaries  on  St. 
Thomas,  if  he  had  called  for  volunteers,  twenty  or  thirty  would 
have  been  willing  to  set  out  at  once  for  that  pestilential  spot. 

'"Religion  and  the  spirit  of  devotion  dominated  the  life  of  the 
two  settlements.  Frequent  assemblies  for  daily  prayer,  on  the 
part  of  single  choirs,  or  of  the  entire  congregation,  were  charac- 
teristic features.  Church  discipline  was  carefully  administered. 
But  a  time  of  severe  test  was  approaching.  Peaceful  Beth- 
lehem was  to  be  drawn  into  the  turbulence  of  the  contest  be- 
tween England  and  France  for  supremacy  in  America.  The 
treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  had  been  of  practical  significance  here 
only  as  suited  the  governors  and  military  commanders  of  the 
various  provinces.  On  the  St.  Lawrence  and  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio  French  inroads  caused  continual  alarms.  Fort  Le 
Boeuf  had  been  the  subject  of  diplomatic  remonstrance  on  the 
part  of  Governor  Dunwiddie  of  Virginia  and  the  occasion  of 
Washington's  first  services  to  his  country.  Colonel  Fry's  ad- 
vance in  the  spring  of  1754  had  marked  the  commencement,  of 
actual  hostilities.  Fort  Du  Quesne  had  been  completed  at  the 
junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  Rivers.  Against  it 
Braddock  had  been  sent  by  the  crown.  Large  bodies  of  Indians 
had  made  common  cause  with  the  French.  The  dress  parade 
of  the  magnificently  self-confident  but  stubbornly  indocile  regu- 
lars had  merged  into  demoralization  and  slaughter  and  rout  be- 
neath the  crack  of  unseen  savage  guns  in  the  rank  density  of 
the  walnut  forest  on  that  fatal  July  9,  1755,  and  Braddock  lay 
buried  at  Great  Meadov/s. 

An  immediate  effect  was  the  outbreak  of  repeated  atrocities 
along  the  western  frontier  of  Pennsylvania.  The  settlements 
in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  were  devastated  by  tomahawk 
and  torch.  Then  massacres  along  the  Swatara  and  along  the 
line  of  the  Blue  Mountains  spread  the  alarm.  On  November  24 
the  worst  fears  were  realized  at  the  Gnadenhiitten  mission  sta- 
tion on  the  Mahoni.  As  evening  shadows  lengthened  and  the 
occupants  of  the  mission-house  were  gathered  for  their  frugal 
evening  meal,  the  dreaded  war-whoops  suddenly  rang  out  and 
the  reports  of  fire-arms  reechoed  among  the  hills.     When  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  29 

Startled  men  and  women  darted  from  the  lower  story  to  the 
room  above,  and  barricaded  its  entrance,  fire  was  applied  to 
the  house.  Those  who  fled  from  the  flames  by  leaping  from 
the  windows  were  pierced  by  bullets  or  slashed  by  tomahawks. 
Out  of  fifteen  only  four  persons  escaped  to  tell  the  manner  of 
their  companion's  martyrdom.  When  the  Indian  converts  in 
their  village  across  the  Lehigh,  less  than  a  mile  away,  gathered 
around  their  teachers  and  offered  at  once  to  make  reprisals  on 
the  enemy,  they  were  restrained  by  the  reminder  that  they  were 
the  servants  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Scattering  to  the  woods, 
they  and  their  teachers  gradually  reassembled  at  Bethlehem. 
The  raiders  soon  left  only  ashes  and  charred  fragments  to  tell 
where  once  the  church  and  school  and  dwellings  had  stood. 
For  more  than  a  year  the  "brown  hearts"  were  harbored  by 
their  brethren  at  Bethlehem.  Then  in  view  of  the  apparent 
hopelessness  of  peace,  they  commenced  to  build  a  new  village, 
known  as  Nain,  up  the  river  about  a  mile  from  Bethlehem,  and 
a  second  village,  Wechquadnach,  beyond  the  Blue  Mountain.*;, 
on  a  tributary  of  the  Lehigh. 

Dreadful  as  were  the  experiences  of  that  24th  of  November 
on  the  Mahoni,  they  did  not  take  the  Brethren  wholly  by  sur- 
prise;  for  on  the  12th  a  letter  had  been  received  from  the  mis- 
sionary, Post,  at  Wyoming,  and  Schmick  and  Frey.  from  Sha- 
mokin.  had  made  deposition  before  a  notary  with  regard  to  the 
facts  that  had  come  under  their  observation.  The  same  day 
the  Brethren  at  Bethlehem  had  also  put  on  record  their  senti- 
ments:  "If  it  must  be  so,  it  is  better  that  a  Brother  should  die 
at  his  post  than  to  withdraw  and  have  a  single  soul  thus  suffer 
loss."  In  accordance  with  this  sentiment  John  Gattermeyer, 
one  of  the  victims  of  the  massacre,  had  not  hesitated  to  accept 
a  call  to  the  point  of  danger  only  seven  days  before  he  gained 
the  martyr's  crown. 

Now  the  settlements  themselves  were  seriously  threatened. 
No  precaution  could  be  deemed  superfluous.  At  Bethlehem  a 
regular  system  of  patrol  and  sentry-duty  was  at  once  estab- 
lished. The  children  from  the  other  affiliated  places  were  gath- 
ered into  a  house  central  in  location  and  easily  defensible.  The 
women  of  the  more  exposed  villages  were  also  removed  to  Beth- 
lehem. In  a  few  weeks  the  town  was  surrounded  with  a  sub- 
stantial stockade,  and  two  swivel-guns  mounted.  Laborers  in 
the  fields  were  attended  by  armed  guards.     Should  a  skulking 


30 


A    HISTORY    OF 


hostile  be  discovered  the  pickets  had  orders  to  shoot  at  once — 
but  to  aim  only  at  the  spy's  limbs,  to  frighten  him  off,  not  to 
kill  him.  Fugitive  settlers  of  various  faiths  and  nationaUties 
streamed  from  the  surrounding  country  into  the  Moravian 
towns,  as  to  cities  of  refuge,  by  December  19,  187  being  wel- 
comed in  Nazareth  alone.  On  the  30th  it  was  reported  that 
1 100  Indians  and  French  were  on  their  way  to  attack  Bethlehem 
and  Nazareth  on  New  Year's  Day.  Though  the  number  had 
been  exaggerated,  on  that  day  three  assaults  were  made — near 
Gnadenhutten  upon  a  small  body  of  colonial  troops,  at  the  "Irish 
Settlement"  and  near  Christianspring.  Yet  when  on  January  5 
volunteers  were  called  for  in  order  to  take  a  letter  to  the  Shaw- 
nese  war-chief,  Paxnous,  whose  wife  was  a  convert  of  the  mis- 
sion, ten  men  stepped  forth.  That  the  fearlessness  and  good 
faith  of  the  Moravians  in  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware  had  due 
moral  effect  upon  the  savages  appears  from  their  declaration, 
"If  the  Great  God  were  not  the  God  of  the  Brethren,  we  should 
have  made  an  end  of  the  whites." 

FrankHn,  on  visiting  Bethlehem,  was  surprised  to  find  the 
place  in  so  good  a  state  of  defense,  and  to  perceive  the  methodic 
way  in  which  these  non-combatants  kept  watch  and  ward.  Yet 
it  ought  not  to  have  been  difficult  for  a  philosopher  to  discrim- 
inate between  professional  participation  in  mihtary  operations 
of  an  aggressive  character  and  preparation  for  self-defense 
against  savages  in  order  that  bloodshed  might  be  averted  by  the 
very  thoroughness  of  the  preparation.  Moreover  the  people  of 
Bethlehem  did  not  in  the  last  resort  place  their  hopes  in  the  use 
of  arms.  "In  the  present  state  of  affairs  the  Saviour  is  our  best 
reliance,"  they  declared  just  after  the  massacre  on  the  Mahoni. 
Nor  did  He  put  them  to  shame.  Though  the  hostiles  encamped 
within  six  miles  of  Nazareth,  the  settlements  escaped  the  neces- 
sity of  putting  their  precautionary  measures  to  the  test  of  an 
actual  encounter. 

Meanwhile  they  had  their  enemies  amongst  a  class  of  whites 
whose  opportunity  for  ill-gotten  gains  they  had  marred.  Slan- 
derously denounced  as  in  league  with  the  French  and  Indians, 
on  the  strength  of  a  forged  letter  which  was  alleged  to  have  been 
intercepted  on  its  way  to  Quebec,  they  had  been  exposed  to  the 
opprobrium  of  the  public  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  In 
Jersey  public  proclamation  had  been  made  with  beat  of  drum, 
that  Bethlehem  and  its  filials  must  be  razed  to  the  ground  and 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  3  I 

its  people  slain.  Nor  did  even  ilie  ruin  of  a  flourishing  mission 
and  the  loss  of  hves  wholly  dissipate  the  angry  spirit.  But  the 
Brethren  were  also  the  object  of  special  enmity  on  the  part  of 
the  Indians  who  had  donned  the  war  paint,  because  the  influ- 
ence of  the  missionaries  baffled  their  endeavor  to  secure  the  alli- 
ance of  the  converted  Delavvarcs.  Teedyeuscung,  the  leader  of 
the  hostiles,  as  one  of  their  renegade  converts  in  particular  bore 
them  no  good-will.  Yet  in  July,  1756,  and  in  October,  1758, 
when  this  redoubtable  warrior  met  Governors  Morris  and  Den- 
nis at  Easton  to  treat  for  peace  in  the  name  of  the  Delawares, 
the  Brethren  proved  of  decided  service  in  furthering  negotia- 
tions. And  in  1758  the  missionary  Post^  as  a^ent  of  the  gov- 
ernmentj^  lent  valuable  aid  in  allaying  hostility  and  in  promot- 
ing the  security  of  the  frontier,  in  connection  with  his  journey 
to  the  Ohio. 

Nowhere  was  joy  more  universal  than  in  the  Moravian  vil- 
lages when  the  year  1759  ushered  in  an  era  of  peace.  This  was 
particularly  the  case  at  Nain.  Prosperity  in  every  respect  char- 
acterized its  life.  It  became  the  center  of  attraction  for  large 
numbers  of  wondering  heathen,  and  thus  the  influence  of  the 
gospel  spread  mightily.  Amongst  the  rest  there  came  from 
Wyalusing  on  the  Susquehanna  a  notable  medicine-man,  and 
chief  of  the  Muncies,  Papunhank.  In  his  own  ignorant  way  he 
had  been  endeavoring  to  inculcate  morality.  As  a  smcere 
seeker  after  truth  he  now  yielded  to  the  power  of  Christ,  and 
though  not  yet  baptized  returned  home  changed  in  heart,  to 
testify  of  salvation.  The  growth  of  Nain  led  to  the  purchase  of 
fourteen  hundred  acres  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  the 
missionary  Gottlob  Senscman  removed  thither  in  April,  1760, 
with  thirty  baptized  Indians.  So  Wechquetank  arose.  Hither 
came  Papunhank  with  his  wife  and  thirty-three  followers  in 
search  of  more  light. 

Meanwhile  the  future  prince  of  American  missionaries,  David 
Zeisbergcr.  was  engaged  in  diligent  literary  labor,  to  secure  per- 
manence for  the  results  and  to  render  future  help  to  beginners 
in  the  work.  His  Iroquois  Grammar  and  Iroquois-German 
Dictionary,  for  which  materials  had  been  collected  at  Onon- 
daga, belong  to  this  period. 


32  A    HISTORY   OF 


^ 


CHAPTER  III. 


MISSIONARY    UNDERTAKINGS    DURING   THE    LATTER    PART    OF    THE 
ZINZENDORFIAN    ERA. 

For  ardent  imaginative  minds  the  Orient  has  ever  possessed 
fascination.  To  this  fascination  Zinzendorf  was  no  stranger. 
Under  his  leadership  the  synod  of  Ebersdorf  in  1739  devoted 
particular  attention  to  the  East.  Prospective  missions  in  Ethi- 
opia, on  the  Aiadras  coast  of  India,  in  China,  in  Persia,  in  Con- 
stantinople, and  in  Wallachia,  were  discussed.  Gradin's  jour- 
ney to  Constantinople  in  1740,  to  renew  the  ancient  fellowship 
between  the  Unitas  Fratrum  and  the  Greek  Church,  was  in- 
tended as  a  step  towards  Oriental  missions.  It  resulted  in  little 
more  than  a  polite  exchange  of  compliments.  A  severe  check 
was  received  when  Russia's  welcome  to  Lange,  Hirschel  and 
Kund,  who  were  on  their  vv^ay  to  China  and  MongoHa,  took  the 
form  of  close  imprisonment.  But  in  1747,  almost  coincident 
with  the  removal  of  their  fetters,  Christian  Frederick  William 
Hockfer,  a  physician,  and  John  R.uffe£,  a  surgeon,  went  forth 
as  misionaries  to  the  Guebres^  in  Eastern  Persia,  the  supposed 
descendants  of  the  Magi.  Joining  a  caravan  that  set  out  from 
the  coast  of  Syria  for  Bagdad,  the  two  intrepid  doctors  made 
their  way  to  Ispahan  by  the  end  of  November.  But  they  found 
it  impossible  to  penetrate  farther.  Twice  they  had  been  plun- 
dered by  Kurdish  robbers,  and  Hocker  had  been  severely 
wounded.  Now  they  learnt  that  most  of  the  Guebres  had  been 
massacred  or  exiled,  so  that  their  journey  was  rendered  pur- 
poseless. Hence,  in  June,  1748,  they  retraced  their  steps  by 
way  of  Bagdad,  Aleppo  and  Damietta.  A  third  attack  of  rob- 
bers had  to  be  endured.  At  Damietta  Riififer  succumbed  to  the 
hardships  experienced,  July  26,  1749.  Hocker  reached  the 
home  church  on  February  8,  1750. 

Undeterred  by  what  he  had  encountered,  in  1752  he  returned 
to  Egypt  with  the  intention  of  proceeding  to  the  Copts  of  Abys- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


33 


sinia.  Promises  of  various  kinds  had  been  made  by  a  certain 
Count  D'Esneval,  who  was  in  the  service  of  the  Negus,  and 
claimed  to  be  empowered  to  secure  skilled  European  colonists. 
In  Cairo  Hocker  supported  himself  by  his  profession,  and  made 
use  of  the  time  to  familiarize  himself  with  Arabic.  His  repre- 
sentations procured  a  firman  from  the  Grand  Vizier  and  a  letter 
of  recommendation  from  the  Coptic  Patriarch,  Mark,  to  the 
Coptic  Metropolitan  of  Abyssinia ;  but  political  disturbances 
prevented  the  projected  journey.  Hence  he  returned  to  Europe 
in  1755- 

Next  year,  however,  he  once  more  established  himself  in 
Cairo,  together  with  George  Pilder.  a  young  student  of  the- 
ology. The  mission  in  Abyssinia  was  still  their  goal.  Circum- 
stances detained  them  in  Egypt  till  October,  1758,  when  pas- 
sage was  taken  in  an  Arab  vessel  sailing  on  the  Red  Sea. 
Wrecked  on  the  island  of  Hassani,  they  with  difficulty  made 
the  coast  of  Arabia  at  Dschidda,  not  far  from  Mecca,  but  lost 
their  valuable  medical  supplies.  This  necessitated  a  return  to 
Cairo  for  a  new  outfit,  a  journey  which  was  accomplished  amid 
all  sorts  of  perils.  Both  were  taken  seriously  sick,  so  that  Pil- 
der left  for  home  at  once,  and  Hocker  followed  in  1761. 

Eight  years  afterwards  the  indefatigable  Hocker  once  more 
sought  Egypt,  this  time  with  two  companions,  John  Henry 
Danke  and  John  Antes.  To  proceed  to  Abyssinia  was  impos- 
^ble,  owing  to  the  revolution  headed  by  the  Mameluke  com- 
mander, Ali  Bey.  Hocker  practiced  his  profession,  and  Antes 
gained  a  livelihood  as  a  clock-maker.  To  preach  to  the  Moham- 
medans involved  a  risk  of  the  death  penalty.  But  a  commence- 
ment was  made  at  a  translation  of  the  Bible.  Danke  pushed 
on  to  a  Coptic  settlement  at  Benesse,  four  days'  journey  up 
the  Nile,  where  he  labored  with  considerable  acceptance  till  his 
death,  in  1772.  His  successor  was  H.  G.  Winiger,  whose  ser- 
vices amongst  the  Copts  at  Cairo  and  Benesse  continued  till 
the  misison  was  abandoned.  Hocker  died  in  1782.  The  harsh 
treatment  meted  out  to  the  missionaries  by  various  officials,  and 
especially  to  Antes,  who  was  fearfully  bastinadoed  by  a  cruel 
and  avaricious  bey  in  the  hope  of  thus  securing  money,  and 
aBsolute  inhibition  of  labor  amongst  Mohammedans  finally 
caused  the  svnod  of  that  year  to  order  a  withdrawal  from  this 
field. 


4- 


34  A    HISTORY    OF 

The  commencement  of  another  mission  in  the  East  took  its 
inception  from  a  very  different  quarter.  In  the  latter  part  of 
February,  1758,  the  attention  of  Count  Zinzendorf  was  directed 
towards  Iceland  by  an  article  which  appeared  in  an  Erlangen 
newspaper.  He  wrote  to  the  King  of  Denmark,  suggesting 
the  planting  of  a  Moravian  colony  on  that  island.  Count  von 
Moltke,  President  of  the  Danish  East  Indian  Company,  replied 
that  whilst  Iceland  did  not  offer  a  suitable  field  for  activity,  in 
the  East  Indies  it  was  otherwise,  and  that  the  King  would  favor 
a  mission  on  the  Nicobar  Islands.  Here  the  Danish  Company 
had  established  itself  two  years  earlier.  Upon  Zinzendorf's 
entertaining  this  suggestion  favorably,  and  requesting  permis- 
sion to  found  a  station  on  the  main-land,  at  Tranquebar,  as  a 
base  for  the  mission  proper,  his  desire  was  granted  and  re- 
ligious liberty  was  promised.  Accordingly  on  August  3,  1759, 
a  circular  was  issued  to  the  church,  calling  for  men  and  means 
for  the  projected  undertaking.  Liberal  responses  were  re- 
ceived, Herrnhut  alone  contributing  two  thousand  thaler.  Four- 
teen unmarried  men  were  selected,  with  George  F.  Stahlmann 
as  their  leader.  Two  students  of  theology,  Adam  Volker  and 
Christian  Butler,  were  to  do  specific  missionary  work,  whilst 
the  rest,  eleven  of  whom  were  artisans  representing  various 
trades,  were  charged  with  the  maintenance  of  the  enterprise. 
They  reached  Tranquebar  on  July  2,  1760,  and  after  purchasing 
a  tract  of  cultivated  land  and  a  dwelling  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
town,  henceforth  named  Briidergarten,  they  settled  down  to 
self-support  by  the  cultivation  of  rice  and  the  prosecution  of 
their  trades.  Next  year  a  second  colony  came,  consisting  of 
a  number  of  families  under  the  leadership  of  N.  A.  Jaeschke, 
formerly  active  in  Wallachia.  But  he  and  his  wife  soon  suc- 
cumbed to  the  fatal  climate,  a  factor  sadly  prominent  in  the  his- 
tory of  this  mission. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  new  attempts,  notwithstanding  the 
financial  stringency.  Scarcely  had  Greenland  begun  to  actually 
yield  returns  when  its  neighbor  across  Davis  Straits  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  Brethren.  The  triangular  peninsula  to 
which  the  name  of  Labrador,  "Land  that  may  be  cultivated," 
had  been  given  in  cynical  derision,  had  offered  even  fewer  in- 
ducements to  colonization.  A  peculiarly  dreary  region  it  surely 
was  and  is.  Stones  and  boulders,  varying  in  diameter  from  one 
to  twenty  feet,  cover  much  of  its  surface.     In  winter  the  mer- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  35 

cury  may  remain  for  a  considerable  period  thirty  degrees  below- 
zero,  and  may  run  down  to  seventy.  Fruit  trees  are  not.  Here 
and  there  in  protected  valleys  scrubby  pines  and  birches  and 
aspen-poplars  venture  to  put  forth  an  apology  for  timber. 
Mosses  and  grasses  and  bright  flowers  take  advantage  of  the 
short  warm  summer;  but  in  severity  the  climate  excells  even 
that  of  Greenland.  The  very  deer  and  bears  and  wolves  and 
foxes  have  a  hard  time  of  it,  for  the  snow  sometimes  lies  fifteen 
feet  deep.  Human  life  depends  chiefly  on  the  catch  of  cod-fish 
and  salmon  and  seal.  The  Eskimos  of  this  coast  bore  a  worse 
reputation  than  the  heathen  Greenlanders  for  treachery,  super- 
stition and  savage  ferocity.  Though  Cabot  had  touched  here 
in  1497  no  English  churchman  had  looked  on  them  as  possible 
trophies  for  Christ.  In  1520  France  founded  a  western  Brest; 
but  the  aborigines  were  not  baptized.  In  1669  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  received  from  Charles  II  liberal  grants  in  these 
parts;  but  the  fur-traders  cared  little  enough  for  demonstrative 
Christianity  at  any  time,  and  nothing  at  all  for  missionating. 
Money-making  was  their  business.  It  needed  another  kind  of 
man  to  be  interested  in  the  souls  of  these  uncouth  heathen.  He 
was  at  last  found  in  the  mate  of  a  Dutch  ship,  John  Christian 
Erhardt,  who  in  1741.  in  the  course  of  one  of  his  voyages,  had 
come  into  contact  with  Frederick  Martin.  The  missionarv  to 
the  negroes  brought  the  knowledge  of  personal  salvation  to  the 
sailor.  When  his  avocation  took  him  into  northern  latitudes 
he  visited  New  Herrnhut.  and  writes  to  Germany,  "I  have  an 
amazing  affection  for  those  northern  countries,  and  for  Indians 
and  other  barbarians,  and  it  would  be  the  source  of  the  greatest 
joy  if  the  Saviour  would  discover  to  me  that  He  has  chosen  me 
and  would  make  me  fit  for  this  service."  De  W'atteville  en- 
courages Erhardt's  desire :  but  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  will 
hear  of  no  such  thing  as  preaching  to  Eskimos  near  their  estab- 
lishments. 

In  the  fall  of  175 1  Matthew  Stach.  with  Lawrence  Drachart. 
a  former  Lutheran  minister  in  Greenland  who  had  recently 
entered  the  service  of  the  Brethren's  Church,  reports  concern- 
ing the  mission  in  that  country,  and  urges  similar  work  in  Lab- 
rador, suggesting  that  trade  be  combined  with  evangelization. 
But  this  proposition  does  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  Count 
Zinzendorf.  Merchants  who  are  members  of  the  London  con- 
gregation, however,  adopt  the  idea,  and  in  1752  fit  out  a  ship 


36  A    HISTORY    OF 

for  trade  and  possible  colonization  on  the  coast  of  Labrador, 
James  Nisbet  being  especially  active  in  promoting  the  under- 
taking. Erhardt  and  several  other  Brethren  take  passage  in 
her,  and  on  July  31  reach  their  destination,  entering  a  fine  bay 
which  they  call  Nisbet's  Haven.  Here  four  prospective  mis- 
sionaries land  and  prepare  to  build  a  house,  naming  the  place 
Hopedale.  Then  Erhardt  sails  northward.  But  when  he  and 
five  others  put  ofT  unarmed  in  a  small  boat  to  do  business  with 
the  natives,  their  goods  prove  an  incentive  to  murder.  Their 
boat  never  returns ;  only  mutilated  remains  tell  the  tragic  story 
of  treacherous  crime.  Short-handed  as  he  now  is,  the  captain 
forthwith  returns  to  Hopedale,  and  represents  to  the  four  mis- 
sionaries that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  safely  navigate  his 
ship  home  without  their  aid.  They  must  therefore  reluctantly 
abandon  their  enterprise. 

Meanwhile  the  status  of  the  mission  in  the  West  Indies  had 
decidedly  improved.  Success  had  gradually  altered  public 
opinion  in  relation  to  it.  Since  1751  its  management  had  de- 
volved upon  Bishop  Spangenberg  at  Bethlehem,  with  Seidel  as 
his  assistant.  The  latter  visited  St.  Thomas  in  1753,  and  made 
provision  for  the  systematic  development  of  the  enterprise  by 
the  appointment  of  twenty-four  national-helpers.  Within  a 
few  years  land  was  purchased  for  settlement  congregations. 
Nisky  in  St.  Thomas,  Friedensthal  in  St.  Croix,  and  Bethany 
in  St.  John.  The  appointment  of  resident  missonaries  in  the 
latter  islands,  Ohneberg  in  St.  Croix,  and  Brucker  in  St.  John — 
1751  and  1754 — was  attended  with  gratifying  results  forthwith. 
But  the  purchase  of  land  inaugurated  a  policy  of  doubtful  legiti- 
macy and  expediency.  Taking  the  institution  of  slavery  as 
they  found  it,  the  missionaries  at  first  made  no  protest  against 
it  as  such,  but  sought  to  mitigate  its  evils  by  securing  their 
converts  as  laborers  on  the  mission  estates.  That  in  the  end 
this  militated  against  successful  spiritual  labor,  by  leading  to  a 
not  unnatural  suspicion  of  the  disinterestedness  of  those  who 
were  at  the  same  time  task-masters  and  religious  teachers,  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at.  On  the  other  hand  the  faithful  and 
blameless  conduct  of  the  mission-negroes  during  an  insurrec- 
tion of  the  slaves  at  Christmas,  1759,  testified  to  the  genuine- 
ness of  their  conversion  and  to  their  affection  for  the  Brethren 
Vv'ho  had  rescued  them  from  the  brutality  of  conscienceless  over- 
seers. 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S.  37 

Prior  to  this  the  good  influence  of  the  missionaries  upon  the 
morals  of  the  slaves  drew  favorable  attention  to  their  work,  and 
caused  its  extension  to  the  EngUsh  Islands.  Soon  after  the 
passage  of  the  Act  of  ParHament  in  1749  overtures  came  to 
Zinzendorf  to  establish  missionary  settlements  in  Jamaica  from 
a  Miss  Edwin,  of  London,  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Stonehouse.  But 
nothing  could  be  done  at  this  time.  It  was  the  era  of  deepest 
financial  embarrassment. 

That  Jamaica  was  well  worthy  of  their  attention,  and  offered 
an  attractive  field  for  philanthropic  effort,  they  fully  realized. 
Well-wooded,  fertile  and  watered  by  countless  rivulets,  the 
"Isle  of  Springs"  was  the  most  important  of  the  British  pos- 
sessions in  the  West  Indies.  Discovered  by  Columbus  in  1494, 
it  had  been  wrested  from  the  Spanish  in  1655  by  Cromwell's  ex- 
pedition under  Admiral  Penn  and  General  Venables.  Before 
the  end  of  the  century  it  was  beginning  to  export  vast  quanti- 
ties of  sugar,  and  Port  Royal,  the  rendezvous  of  the  Bucca- 
neers, was  known  as  "the  finest  town  in  the  West  Indies  and  the 
richest  spot  in  the  universe,"  till  the  awful  catastrophe  of  June 
7,  1690,  involved  all  except  two  hundred  of  its  three  thousand 
houses  and  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  its  inhabitants  in  sud- 
den destruction.  This  had  led  to  the  settlement  of  Kingston. 
With  its  thousands  of  slaves  Jamaica  before  and  since  that 
time  had  proved  no  exception  to  other  West  Indian  islands  in 
regard  to  ser\-ile  insurrections.  From  time  to  time  many 
blacks  escaped  to  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains  rising  from 
two  thousand  or  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  sea  level, 
and  by  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  massed  to- 
gether in  such  numbers  as  to  establish  a  veritable  town  on  one 
of  the  highest  points.  To  reduce  this  fastness  of  the  Maroons, 
as  they  were  called,  had  taxed  the  miUtary  strength  of  the  island 
in  1734;  and  despite  its  destruction  they  had  rallied  under  their 
able  leader,  one  Cudjoe,  so  effectively  as  to  dictate  terms  to  the 
government  and  compel  the  latter  to  have  recourse  to  concilia- 
tion rather  than  force.  In  173S  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  made 
with  them,  according  to  the  terms  of  which  two  thousand  five 
hundred  acres  of  land  were  assigned  to  them  in  different  parts 
of  the  island,  and  perfect  freedom  was  granted  to  them  and  to 
their  posterity.  "Captain  Cudjoe"  was  confirmed  as  their 
chief  commander,  with  two  white  superintendents  as  their  ad- 
visers, and  they  were  required  to  aid  the  government  in  repel- 


28  A    HISTORY    OF 

ling  invasions  and  in  suppressing  rebellions.  But  notwithstand- 
ing this  recognition  of  the  legal  status  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
blacks,  and  the  increase  of  the  stipends  of  the  clergy  of  the  Es- 
tabHshed  Church,  in  1707,  because  of  their  being  "required  to 
instruct  all  free  persons  of  color  and  slaves  who  may  be  will- 
ing to  be  baptized  and  informed  in  the  tenets  of  the  Christian 
religion,"  it  does  not  appear  that  any  systematic  missionary 
work  had  been  undertaken. 

In  February,  1754,  two  members  of  the  church  in  England, 
Barham  and  Foster,  who  owned  plantations  in  Jamaica,  asked 
for  the  appointment  of  missionaries  to  instruct  their  four  hun- 
dred slaves.  Zinzendorf  was  apprehensive  that  circumstances 
would  not  allow  of  a  new  venture  at  this  time,  but  gave  his  con- 
sent when  Zacharias  George  Caries  volunteered  to  go  and  the 
two  proprietors  promised  their  support.  With  two  companions 
Caries  set  out  in  October,  Foster  and  Barham  made  good 
their  word,  providing  generously  and  presenting  a  plot  of 
ground  for  the  benefit  of  the  mission,  named  Carmel.  Other 
planters  encouraged  the  missionaries  and  urged  their  people  to 
give  heed  to  them.  Additional  missionaries  soon  followed, 
amongst  the  rest  Chn^gn  Henry  Rauchirorn  America,  later 
superintendent  of  the  field.  Numbers  were  baptized.  Emmaus 
was  added  to  Carmel,  and  outposts  were  established  at  the 
Bogue,  Island  and  Mesopotamia,  three  other  plantations.  But 
differences  of  judgment  amongst  the  missionaries  respecting 
the  length  of  probation  advisable  prior  to  the  admission  of  con- 
verts to  church  fellowship  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  workers 
and  seriously  affected  the  confidence  of  the  negroes. 

Meantime  in  1756  the  missionaries  on  St.  Thomas  com- 
missioned Samuel  Isles  to  investigate  the  prospects  in  Antigua. 
Well  received  by  the  governor  and  by  a  number  of  the  planters, 
he  met  with  speedy  success,  his  first  convert  being  baptized  next 
year.  In  1760  a  piece  of  ground  in  the  outskirts  of  St.  Johns 
was  purchased  and  a  permanent  base  of  operations  secured. 

The  year  1754,  "the  colonial  year,"  as  it  has  been  distinctively 
termed  by  Moravian  writers,  was  of  significance  also  for  the  mis- 
sion in  Surinam.  The  exploratory  tour  of  the  year  1735  had  not 
imparted  favorable  impressions.  Low-lying,  swampy  land,  the 
boat  or  canoe  affording  the  best  means  of  travel  up  the  numer- 
ous rivers,  soil  fabulously  fertile  but  also  malaria-breeding,  the 
cHmate  one   of  intensest  heat,   requiring   Europeans   to   seek 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


39 


absolute  rest  during  the  mid-day  hours — these  were  the  chief 
features  reported  from  Surinam.  Arawack,  Warrow  and  other 
Indian Jjibes  and  free  Bush  Negroes  and  negro  slaves  consti- 
tuted the  bulk-  of  the  population.  Discovered  by  Columbus  in 
1498,  the  country  has  received  Dutch  settlers  as  early  as  1580, 
and  slaves  have  been  introduced  in  1621.  Since  1669  it  has 
been  continuously  the  property  of  Holland. 

A  patriarchal,  but  utterly  heathenish  life  was  that  of  its  In- 
dians, treachery  and  implacable  thirst   for  revenge   rendering 
futile  any  attempt  at  stable  tribal  organization.     Characteristic 
of  this  life  was  the  "avenging  of  blood."     "If  an  Indian  die.  the 
sorcerer  decides  whether  the  evil  spirit  or  a  human  enemv  has 
killed  him.      If  a  man  be  supposed  to  have  poisoned  the  de- 
ceased, a  caldron  containing  water  and  the  leaves  of  a  certain 
plant  is  placed  on  the  fire  until  the  water  boils.     The  side  of 
the  caldron  on  which  the  water  first  froths  over  indicates  the 
direction  from  which  the  murderer  has  come,  and  the  sorcerer 
now  names  the  place  and  person.     The  nearest  male  relative 
of  the  deceased  then  sets  out  to  take  vengeance.     Until  this  be 
done  he  may  neither  eat  nor  speak.      For  days,  and  even  for 
weeks,  he  may  lie  in  wait  for  his  unsuspecting  victim,  until  an 
opportunity  presents  itself  of  shooting  him  in  the  back  with  a 
poisoned  arrow.     If  the  unfortunate  man  fall  down  dead,  the 
murderer  buries  him  in  the  bush,  returns  to  the  place  on  the 
third  night,  thrusts  a  pointed  stick  into  the  ground  so  as  to 
pierce  the  corpse  lying  beneath,  pulls  the  stick  out  again,  licks 
the  blood  which  adheres  to  it,  and  goes  home  contented  and 
proud.      If  the  sorcerer,  however,  has  named  a  woman  or  a 
child  as  the  murderer,  vengeance  must  be  executed  in  another 
way.     The  innocent  victim  is  surprised  in  a  lonely  place,  and 
thrown  to  the  ground.       After  the  woman's  mouth  has  been 
forced  open  the  teeth  of  a  poisonous  snake  are  pressed  into  her 
tongue.       The  victim  of  this  outrage  is  now  allowed  to  run 
home,  for  before  she  reaches  home  her  tongue  will  be  so  in- 
flamed and  swollen  that  she  will  not  be  able  to  name  her  mur- 
derer.    Usually  deatli  soon  follows.     Thus  no  Indian  is  sure  of 
his  life,  and  all  are  under  the  power  of  the  sorcerer,  who  is  able 
at  any  time  to  contrive  the  death  of  an  enemy  by  naming  him 
to  the  avenger  of  blood  as  the  murderer  of  his  deceased  rela- 
tive." 


40  A    HISTORY    OF 

After  the  return  of  the  explorers,  in  response  to  the  ofit'er  of 
a  welcome  on  a  plantation  on  the  Rio  de  Berbice  by  a  gentle- 
man of  Amsterdam,  Christopher  Daehne  and  John  Giittner  had 
been  sent  thither  in  1738.  At  first  regarded  askance  by  the 
planters,  they  had  established  Pilgerhut  about  one  hundred 
miles  inland.  In  1739  Dr.  Frederick  Regnier  and  his  wife 
found  their  way  to  Paramaribo,  and  through  the  friendly  offices 
of  Abraham  Boemper,  who  later  removed  to  America  and  iden- 
fied  himself  with  the  church,  commenced  a  mission  which  began 
to  excite  interest  especially  amongst  the  Jews  of  the  city.  But 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  manifested  such  hostility 
that  a  removal  became  necessary,  and  a  small  plantation  was 
secured  on  the  Cottica,  to  be  in  turn  relinquished  in  1745,  when 
part  of  the  working  force  was  transferred  to  Pilgerhut.  Here 
the  first  convert  was  baptized  in  March,  1748,  an  old  woman, 
and  so  great  was  the  impression  which  this  made  that  by  June 
the  number  of  those  baptized  rose  to  thirty-nine. 

New  life  had  been  already  inspired  by  the  arrival  of  The- 
ophilus  Solomon  Schumann,  a  friend  of  Cammerhof  and  his 
counterpart  in  soul  and  zeal.  Formerly  a  tutor  in  the  Protes- 
tant cloister  at  Klosterbergen  in  Saxony,  he  readily  acquired 
the  language  which  had  proved  so  difficult  to  his  predecessors, 
translated  portions  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Arawack,  and  pre- 
pared lexical  and  grammatical  helps  for  his  associates.  But  in 
1750  the  operations  of  the  missionaries  were  more  than  ever 
thwarted  by  hostile  whites,  who  conceived  that  the  conversion 
and  enlightenment  of  the  Indians  would  be  prejudicial  to  trade. 
Efforts  were  made  to  arbitrarily  enroll  the  Christian  Indians  on 
the  military  lists  of  the  colony.  Military  duties  and  the  taking 
of  oaths  were  to  be  forced  upon  the  missionaries.  Notwith- 
standing the  unrest  thus  occasioned,  by  the  end  of  1756  Pilger- 
hut numbered  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  baptized  persons. 

Now  in  1754  the  countenance  of  the  authorities  was  secured 
by  Daehne  and  Ralfs  at  Paramaribo.  Seidel  and  Schumann 
also  obtained  concessions  for  the  founding  of  mission  colonies, 
and  two  years  later  Captain  Garrison,  of  the  Irene,  was  sent  to 
take  possession  of  these  tracts  in  the  name  of  the  church. 
Sharon  was  commenced  on  the  Saramacca  by  Schumann  and 
others,  and  r>aejia£  founded  Ephraim  on  the  Corentyne. 

Daehne's  sole  companion  was  one  Christopher,  a  baptized 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  4 1 

negro  from  Pilgerhut,  who  deserted  him.      For  two  years  he 
lived  a  life  of  utter  solitude,  danger  and  hardship. 

"One  evening  he  had  lain  down  in  the  dark  to  rest  in  his 
hammock,  when  a  large  serpent  fell  upon  him  from  a  lath  of  the 
roof,  twined  itself  twice  and  then  three  times  round  his  neck, 
drawing  itself  all  the  time  closer  together.  He  thought  his  end 
had  come,  and  wrote  on  the  table  with  chalk,  'A  serpent  has 
killed  me,'  that  his  brethren  might  not  think  the  Indians  had 
murdered  him.  Suddenly  the  promise  of  our  Saviour  to  His 
disciples  occurred  to  his  mind,  'They  shall  take  up  serpents,  and 
it  shall  not  hurt  them.'  Relying  upon  this,  he  sought  with  all 
his  might  to  free  himself  from  the  serpent's  embrace,  and  was 
so  vehement  in  his  efforts  that  he  tore  off  a  part  of  the  skin  of 
his  face.  He  did  not  know  whither  he  had  flung  the  reptile  in 
the  darkness,  but  was  soon  peacefully  asleep  in  his  hammock. 

"Often  in  the  evenings  he  heard  the  roar  of  a  jaguar,  which 
crept  stealthily  around  his  hut.  He  kindled  a  fire  to  frighten 
away  the  unwelcome  visitor,  but  even  when  the  flames  died  out 
he  remained  fearless.  Then  again,  one  day,  while  gathering 
wood  for  fuel,  he  was  stung  by  the  black  ants,  and  was  rendered 
insensible.  These  ants  are  an  inch  in  length,  and  as  poisonous 
as  the  serpents. 

"Another  time  fifty  blood-thirsty  Indians  with  iron  hatchets 
and  wooden  swords  surrounded  his  hut,  bent  on  executing  their 
long  cherished  design  of  murdering  the  white  man.  Daehne, 
however,  went  out  to  them,  and  told  them  of  his  God,  who  had 
sent  him  to  them,  and  of  God's  love  to  them.  The  result  was 
that  the  Indians  gave  him  some  of  their  provisions  and  promised 
to  come  again  soon,  in  order  to  hear  more  from  him.  While 
yet  living  alone,  he  fell  ill  and  lay  in  his  hut,  stricken  \vith  a 
severe  fever,  but  was  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Schumann. 
Even  in  his  sickness  he  did  not  feel  lonely.  'In  all  my  need  and 
bodily  weakness  my  dear  Saviour  helped  me  through,  and  sweet- 
ened everything  that  was  bitter,'  he  wrote  to  his  brethren. 

"After  two  years  Daehne  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Indians 
settle  down  at  Ephraim,  and  in  this  way  a  small  Christian  con- 
gregation sprang  up  around  his  hut.  Of  the  two  years  which 
had  elapsed  he  said:  'I  have  hitherto  lived  alone  with  my  dear 
Saviour,  and  done  what  I  could,  with  a  contented  and  happy 
heart.  The  Saviour  comforted  me  so  powerfully  by  His  pres- 
ence in  this  lonely  place  that  I  spent  very  happy  times.'  " 


42  A   HISTORY   OF 

Finally  he  was  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  three  Brethren,  and 
was  transferred  to  Sharon  on  the  Saramacca. 

But  now  a  period  of  retrogression  ensued.  In  1758  Schu- 
mann lost  his  .wife,  and  cTrcumstahces  connected  with  the  mis- 
sion rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  visit  Europe.  On  his  re- 
turn to  Pilgerhut  in  1760,  he  found  the  state  of  affairs  com- 
pletely changed.  The  missionary  who  was  to  have  taken  his 
place  had  been  unable  to  find  a  ship  in  which  to  proceed  to  Suri- 
nam. The  converts  had  been  left  without  the  enjoyment  of  the 
sacraments  and  the  discipline  had  been  sadly  relaxed.  Epi- 
demics had  carried  off  as  many  as  forty  persons  in  one  year. 
Raids  of  hostile  Bush  Negroes  had  entailed  heavy  losses.  In 
consequence  a  large  portion  of  the  congregation  had  scattered. 
The  rest  were  quite  dispirited.  Finally,  in  addition  to  all  this, 
Schumann  himself  fell  a  victim  to  the  prevalent  disease,  October 
6,  1760.  Only  forty  years  of  age,  he  had  personally  baptized 
about  four  hundred  Indians.  Well  did  he  deserve  the  designa- 
tion of  "apostle  of  the  Arawacks."  With  his  sudden  death  the 
mission  was  thrown  into  a  deplorable  state. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  43 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE   ESTABLISHMENT   OF  THE  MISSION    IN   LABRADOR,    I764-I776. 

Undeterred  by  the  disastrous  ending  of  Erhardt's  endeavor,  ^^fo^*'^ 
the  Brethren  did  not  abandon  Labrador.  In  1764  Jens__^|vep,  ^t=***^ 
a  Dane  who  had  served  at  Lichtenfels  in  Greenland  lofffTnough 
to  acquire  the  Eskimo,  through  the  favor  of  Sir  Hugh  PalHser, 
Governor  of  Newfoundland,  secured  passage  via  St.  Johns, 
and  by  his  employment  of  their  familiar  dress  and  speech  dis- 
armed the  hostile  suspicions  of  the  natives  of  Labrador,  so  as 
to  prepare  the  way  for  a  permanent  mission.  In  the  following 
year,  accompanied  by  Drachart,  he  made  a  more  extensive 
reconnaissance,  penetrating  a  considerable  distance  into  the 
interior.     But  at  this  juncture  afifairs   of  state  called  a  halt. 

As  a  special  agency  for  the  prosecution  of  missions  in  Labra- 
dor the  church  looked  to  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the 
Gospel,  established  in  London  by  Spangenberg  in  1741,  though 
now  in  a  somewhat  dormant  state.  On  March  10,  1766,  a  re- 
vision of  its  statutes  took  place,  the  officers  being  James  Hut- 
ton,  Chairman,  Thomas  Knight,  Treasurer,  and  William  Oxley, 
Secretarv.  The  revived  society  then  undertook  the  publica- 
tion of  a  translation  of  Cranz's  History  of  Greenland,  that  in- 
terest might  be  awakened  and  prejudices  removed. 

In  the  autumn  of  1767  turmoil  in  Labrador  itself  hastened 
the  founding  of  the  mission.  Sundry  Eskimos  made  a  raid 
on  the  few  settlements  along  the  southern  coast.  During  their 
attempt  to  steal  boats  in  the  vicinity  of  a  fort  in  Charles  Bay 
several  natives  were  killed  and  three  women  and  six  children 
taken  prisoners.  Some  of  these  prisoners  were  detained  in 
Newfoundland;  but  Palliser  brought  to  England  one  of  the 
women  and  two  boys,  one  of  them  a  bright  lad  named  Karpik, 
twelve  years  old.  Brief  as  had  been  the  intercourse  of  Haven 
and  Drachart  with  the  people  of  the  coast,  it  was  remarked  that 
the  woman  recited  a  prayer  which  Drachart  had  taught.     Kar- 


44 


A    HISTORY    OF 


pik  was  therefore  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Society  for  the 
Furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  and  was  placed  in  Fulneck  School. 
He  made  a  creditable  progress  in  primary  branches  and  mani- 
fested a  receptive  religious  mind.  But  next  year  he  died  from 
small-pox,  having  been  prepared  for  his  end  by  baptism  at  his 
own  request.  Mikak,  his  mother,  had  meantime  become  an 
object  of  curious  and  compassionate  interest  to  a  number  of 
persons  of  rank,  and  joined  her  solicitations  to  those  of  the 
Brethren  for  the  requisite  legal  sanction  of  a  missionary  and 
trading  enterprise.  At  last,  on  May  3,  1769,  an  order  of  Privy 
Council  with  royal  approval  sanctioned  the  undertaking,  and 
granted  to  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel  one 
hundred  thousand  acres  on  the  coast  of  Labrador  as  might  be 
selected.  It  was  the  desire  of  the  church  to  establish  four  sta- 
tions and  to  acquire  a  tract  of  equal  dimensions  at  each  place  in 
order  to  insure  unhampered  operations. 

Sanction  of  government  having  been  obtained,  in  this  same 
year  it  was  determined  to  purchase  a  ship  for  Labrador  service, 
at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  pounds,  to  be  divided  into  one  hun- 
dred shares  of  ten  pounds  each.  Twenty-three  Brethren,  the 
majority  being  members  of  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of 
the  Gospel,  took  shares.  These  Brethren  were  to  be  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  ship,  and  were  to  elect  a  committee  to  act  for  them. 
Profit  from  this  ship  over  and  above  five  per  cent,  clear  to  the 
proprietors  should  be  paid  into  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance 
of  the  Gospel.  All  business  connected  with  the  ship  was  to  be 
in  the  hands  of  the  "Ship  Committee."  The  Society  for  the 
Furtherance  of  the  Gospel  was  to  pay  the  "Ship  Committee"  for 
the  passage  of  missionaries  and  the  freight  of  their  goods.  All 
trading  was  to  be  done  by  a  member  of  the  Church  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  "Ship  Committee."  It  was  to  be  quite  independent 
of  the  mission  proper. 

In  March,  1770,  a  small  brig,  the  Jersey  Packet,  was  purchased. 
On  May  2  a  lovefeast  in  Fetter  Lane  Chapel  constituted  the 
farewell  of  the  church  to  the  pioneers  of  the  gospel  in  Labrador. 
With  the  members  of  the  missionary  society  were  present  the 
missionaries  proper,  Drachart,  Haven  and  Stephen  Jensen; 
John  Thorton,  from  Fulneck,  apointed  trader  with  the  natives ; 
John  Glew,  from  Haverfordwest,  mate  of  the  vessel ;  Theobald 
Freeh,  Daniel  Peters  and  Wynstrauch,  from  Zeist,  carpenters 
and  sailors ;   and  Alexander   Campbell  and  Robert   Gilroy  of 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  45 

London,  landsmen,  and  the  wives  of  three  of  the  party.  Six 
additional  sailors  and  the  captain,  Francis  Mugford,  not  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  completed  the  number  of  those  about  to 
sail.  On  Saturday  morning.  May  5,  anchor  was  weighed  and 
the  ship  dropped  down  the  Thames  for  the  adventurous  voy- 
age to  the  chartless  coast  of  Labrador.  Her  instructions  in- 
cluded provision  for  morning  and  evening  prayers  in  the  cabin 
and  services  for  all  on  board  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

The  voyage  was  tedious  and  in  its  latter  part  hazardous. 
Storms  drove  the  brig  to  seek  shelter  in  bays  whose  rocks  and 
shallows  were  unknown  and  at  whose  entrance  bergs  and  floes 
offered  a  threatening  barricade.  At  length  on  August  10  a 
landing  was  effected.  The  natives  were  disposed  to  welcome 
the  strangers.  Mikak's  return  resplendent  in  the  glory  of 
European  finery  made  a  profound  impression.  The  spot  was 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  north  of  Ehrardt's  Hope- 
dale  of  1752.  Friendly  intercourse  was  soon  established,  and 
the  new  settlement  was  called  Nain. 

That  the  authorities  at  home  might  keep  in  touch  with  Labra- 
dor and  that  a  comprehensive  policy  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
mission  in  the  immediate  future  might  be  wisely  adopted,  in 
1773  Layritz  was  commissioned  by  the  Unity's  Elders'  Confer- 
ence to  pay  an  official  visit.  Proceeding  by  way  of  Newfound- 
land, his  reception  by  the  natives  confirmed  the  reports  of  their 
friendliness  and  impressibility.  He  spent  the  short  summer  at 
the  mission,  and  on  his  return  to  Barby  the  estabUshment  of  two 
additional  stations,  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  was  sanc- 
tioned. The  tour  of  exploration  northwards,  in  1774,  cost  the 
lives  of  two  missionaries.  During  the  return  voyage,  after  they 
had  already  experienced  many  thrilling  escapes  and  had  endured 
many  hardships,  their  vessel  ran  on  a  reef  in  the  night  and  began 
to  go  to  pieces.  At  dawn  they  took  to  the  boat.  This  too 
was  dashed  on  the  rocks.  Brasen  and  Lehmann  were  drowned. 
Haven  and  Lister  and  the  sailors  barely  saved  themselves  by 
swnmming  to  spray-swept  ledge,  whence  they  escaped  only  on 
the  fourth  day  after  patching  up  their  boat.  With  a  favoring 
wind  they  were  at  last  towed  to  Xain  by  a  native  in  his  kayak. 
When  the  foaming  sea  gave  up  the  poor  bodies  of  Brasen  and 
Lehmann,  they  were  laid  to  rest  side  by  side  at  Nain. 

In  the  summer  of  1775  Haven  and  Jensen  as  a  fruit  of  this 
exploration  occupied  Okak,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 


46  A    HISTORY    OF 

north  of  Nain,  purchasing  land  from  the  Eskimos.  Here  the 
coast  is  grandly  rugged,  abounding  in  precipitous  fjords.  Okak 
itself — "The  Tongue" — is  situated  on  a  hilly  island,  which  for 
nearly  half  the  year  is  practically  part  of  the  mainland,  for  the 
broad  straits  are  bridged  by  thick  ice.  Though  the  landscape 
is  barren  of  verdure,  noble  mountain  ranges  stretch  away  to  the 
north.  Not  far  of?  rises  the  bold  island  of  Cape  Mugford,  its 
seaward  face  "a  perpendicular  precipice  of  about  two  thou- 
sand feet,  with  white  base  and  a  middle  strata  of  black  blocks 
surmounted  by  castellated  cliffs." 

Both  at  Nain  and  at  Okak  the  progress  of  the  work  though 
requiring  patience  encouraged  the  missionaries.  The  natives' 
habit  of  scattering  on  the  approach  of  winter  gave  the  usages 
of  ancient  heathenism  opportunity  to  reassert  themselves  at  a 
distance  from  the  stations.  But  when  the  notorious  angekck 
Kingminguse  received  baptism  at  Nain  on  February  17,  1776, 
choosing  for  himself  the  name  of  Peter,  hope  began  to  burn 
brightly.  Amongst  the  early  converts  was  also  Mikak.  Re- 
moving to  the  south  soon  after  her  baptism,  she  seemed  to  re- 
lapse into  heathenism,  her  husband,  Tuglavina,  being  an  ange- 
kok,  a  shrewd  leader  of  his  people  in  violence,  and  a  man  of  un- 
common physical  frame  and  hardihood.  On  one  occasion 
"when  Tuglavina,  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  Eskimos,  returned 
the  first  time  from  Chateau  Bay,  having  furnished  himself  with 
a  sloop  of  two  masts,  European  arms,  and  many  other  ac- 
coutrements, he  stepped  unexpectedly  into  the  Mission-house 
and  into  Brother  Haven's  room,  dressed  in  an  old  officer's  uni- 
form, with  a  bob-wig  and  a  huge  laced  hat,  a  sword  at  his  side, 
and  altogether  in  the  habit  of  a  European  officer,  uttering  sev- 
eral threats  and  boasting  of  his  valiant  deeds  in  the  south, 
Brother  Haven,  looking  sternly  at  him,  exclaimed,  'What,  are 
you  Tuglavina?  Depart  this  minute.  I  have  nothing  to  say 
to  you  in  this  dress.  Put  on  your  old  Eskimo  furs  and  then 
return.  Behave  like  a  sober  Eskimo,  and  I'll  answer  your 
speech.'  Tuglavina  instantly  left  the  room,  as  if  thunder- 
struck ;  and  without  reflecting  on  the  degrading  appearance  he 
must  make  before  his  own  countrymen  in  putting  ofT  his  boasted 
ornaments,  returned  to  the  missionaries,  dressed  in  the  plain 
Eskimo  fashion.  They  then  very  seriously  reproved  him  for  the 
wicked  practices  and  the  murders  of  which  he  had  been  guilty, 
and  for  inveigling  so  many  of  the  baptized  to  follow  him  to 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  47 

the  south,  where  he  had  seduced  them  into  all  manner  of 
heathenish  abominations.  During  this  address  Tuglavina  grew 
pale,  trembled  exceedingly,  confessed  himself  an  abominable 
sinner ;  but  said  that  he  must  sin,  for  the  devil  forced  him  to  it 
and  he  could  not  help  himself.  This  gave  the  missionary  a 
desirable  opportunity  of  preaching  to  him  Jesus  as  an  Almighty 
Saviour.  Such  opportunities  became  more  frequent  in  the  fol- 
lowing years ;  and  he  often  shed  tears  when  confessing  his 
wicked  deeds,  which  contrary  to  the  general  practice  of  the 
Eskimos,  he  never  denied.  In  the  sequel  he  became  more  at- 
tentive to  the  gospel,"  eventually  submitted  to  its  power,  and 
died  in  the  faith. 

By  the  year  1781  at  Okak  alone  there  were  thirty-eight  bap- 
tized Eskimos  and  ten  catechumens. 


48  A    HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  INDIAN    MISSION   FROM  THE   PONTIAC  WAR   TO   THE   REMOVAL 

TO    CANADA. 

Representatives  of  various  high  contracting  powers  might 
solemnly  meet  and  negotiate  terms  of  peace  in  Europe,  but 
their  signatures  to  the  stipulations  at  Paris  did  not  necessarily 
quiet  the  perturbations  of  the  western  world.  Pontiac  had  been 
dreaming  of  the  utter  extinction  or  expulsion  of  the  English, 
and  his  designs  should  be  checked  by  no  treaty  to  which  his 
allies,  the  French,  were  committed.  In  May,  1763,  the  rising 
of  the  red-men,  which  was  to  have  swept  from  Detroit  to  the 
ocean,  began  with  the  siege  of  that  frontier  fortress  by  the  wily 
Ottawa  in  person.  Though  the  staunchness  of  Gladwyn  foiled 
him,  Sandusky,  Fort  St.  Joseph,  Fort  Miami,  Michilimackinac, 
Presqu'  Isle,  and  Fort  Venango  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  sav- 
ages, and  Fort  Pitt  was  beleagured.  Many  of  the  settlements 
of  Western  Pennsylvania  were  ravaged.  Bouquet's  expedition, 
sent  to  cover  the  western  border  of  the  colony,  encountered 
desperate  foes,  and  only  after  well-nigh  repeating  Braddock's 
experience  reached  Fort  Pitt  with  relief.  Now  the  exasperated 
frontiersmen  of  the  Susquehanna  resorted  to  bloody  retaliation, 
directing  their  fury  against  the  friendly  and  civilized  tribesmen 
near  the  settlements,  and  the  massacre  of  the  Conestoga  In- 
dians stained  the  annals  of  Pennsylvania.  Prior  to  this  the 
colonial  authorities  had  entertained  fears  for  the  Moravian  In- 
dians at  Xain  and  Wechquetank.  Dreading  a  counterpart  of 
the  Conestoga  massacre  at  their  villages,  Governor  Penn  had 
therefore  already  ordered  the  Moravian  Indians  to  be  removed 
to  Philadelphia  for  safety,  together  with  their  missionaries, 
Zeisberger,  Grube,  Schmick  and  Roth.  Excitement  ran  high 
in  the  city.  Members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  setting  aside 
their  peace  principles  in  the  conflict  of  duties,  took  arms  to  de- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


49 


fend  their  charges  against  whom  the  frontiersmen  swore  ven- 
geance. For  a  time  the  Hves  of  the  missionaries  and  of  their 
converts  appeared  to  be  in  serious  danger.  But  actual  strife 
was  providentially  averted,  though  the  arrangements  for  their 
sustenance  at  Province  Island,  the  summer-quarantine  of  the 
port,  were  distressingly  inadequate,  and  the  evidences  of  inse- 
curity and  of  possible  inability  to  protect  them  led  to  an  attempt 
to  remove  them  to  Xew  York.  Thither  they  proceeded  under 
escort.  But  when  Perth  Amboy  was  reached  they  were  stopped 
by  a  peremptory  inhibition  of  further  advance,  and  had  to  re- 
trace their  weary  steps.  Returned  to  Philadelphia,  the  bar- 
racks were  assigned  as  their  quarters.  Now  came  a  rumor  that 
men  from  Lancaster  and  Reading  were  marching  on  the  capital, 
bent  on  having  the  lives  of  the  Moravian  Indians.  Philadelphia 
surged  with  excitement,  a  large  part  of  the  people  sympathizing 
with  the  Paxton  party.  Again  blows  were  averted  by  the  de- 
termined position  of  the  Governor  and  his  associates,  backed 
by  the  sober  treaty-respecting  majority.  But  terrible  distress 
was  experienced  by  the  Indians  and  their  teachers  in  their 
cramped  quarters  and  from  the  unnatural  mode  of  life.  Con- 
finement enfeebled  them.  Dysentery  and  small-pox  broke  out. 
From  January.  1764,  to  March,  1765.  fifty-six  victims  of  bar- 
rack life  were  laid  in  the  Potter's  Field. 

At  the  end  of  the  Pontiac  War  there  was  no  good  reason  why 
the  Moravian  Indians  should  not  be  released  from  their  virtual 
imprisonment  in  Philadelphia.  But  whither  should  they  go? 
Public  opinion  in  its  exasperated  state  would  not  discriminate 
in  favor  of  these  Christianized  Delawares.  The  government 
felt  obliged  to  insist  on  their  removal  beyond  the  territory  long 
ago  ceded  to  the  colony.  Xain  and  Wechquetank  must  be  per- 
manently abandoned.  The  Indians  themselves  desired  to  secure 
new  homes  in  the  wilderness  at  such  a  remove  from  the  whites 
as  might  promise  immunity  from  future  encroachments.  At 
this  juncture  Papunhank  who  had  been  baptized  by  Zeisbergcr 
in  1263,  proposed  that,  government  permitting,  the  entire  band 
of  converts  should  proceed  with  him  to  his  sheltered  little  valley 
where  the  Wvalusing  leaps  dashing  and  foaming  to  join  the 
mighty  Susquehanna.  The  proposal  won  the  consent  of  all 
concerned.  Early  in  April,  1765,  eighty-three  persons,  includ- 
ing a  few  from  the  once  flourishing  Pachgatgoch,  a  mission  that 
never  really  recovered  from  the  effects  01  the  war.  thoiit:h  i»s 
5 


50  A    HISTORY    OF 

existence  was  protracted  till  1770,  set  out  from  Bethlehem  for 
their  new  home.  David  Zeisberger  and  John  Jacob  Schmick 
accompanied  them.  The  toilsome  and  perilous  march  across 
the  mountains  and  through  the  unbroken  and  often  swampy  wil- 
derness occupied  five  weary  weeks.  For  food  dependence  had 
to  be  placed  largely  upon  the  finding  of  game,  and  sometimes 
the  supply  almost  failed.  Roads  had  to  be  made  and  streams 
bridged.  A  woman  and  a  boy  succumbed  to  the  hardships  of 
the  exodus.  Permission  to  occupy  the  site  of  the  old  village 
was  obtained  from  the  Iroquois  of  Cayuga  who  claimed  the  val- 
ley of  the  Susquehanna  to  this  point,  Zeisberger's  adoption 
into  their  nation  being  a  powerful  plea.  At  a  slight  remove 
from  the  former  site  a  permanent  town  was  platted,  and  named 
Friedenshiitten  (Tents  of  Peace),  outpost  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
amongst  the  warring  tribes  of  savages  and  a  refuge  for  the 
"brown  hearts"  who  had  roved  so  long  against  their  own  de- 
sire. In  September,  1776,  Zeisberger  was  compelled  to  proceed 
with  Senseman  to  Onondaga,  in  order  to  avert  a  threatened  dis- 
avowal of  the  grant  of  the  Cayugas  on  the  part  of  the  Iroquois 
council.  He  was  eminently  successful.  The  council  distinctly 
recognized  and  approved  of  the  purposes  of  the  missionaries. 
He  himself  was  invited  to  become  a  respected  resident  at  the 
Indian  capital,  as  in  former  days.  But  the  church  found  it- 
self unable  to  reenter  upon  missions  amongst  the  powerful  con- 
federation of  the  Six  Nations,  and  Zeisberger's  activity  was  to 
be  henceforth  confined  to  the  Delawares. 

Meanwhile  John  Roth,  a  Brandenburger  in  his  fortieth  year, 
had  been  sent  to  assist  Schmick  at  Friedenshiitten.  Their 
labors  as  those  of  Zeisberger  previously,  were  richly  blessed. 
The  settlement  itself  was  an  admirable  object  lesson  of  the 
thrift  and  industry  which  accompanied  the  civilizing  power  of 
the  gospel,  and  at  the  same  time  seeds  of  truth  were  scattered 
in  many  a  direction  by  the  impressions  made  upon  frequent  visi- 
tors from  many  tribes,  for  the  place  lay  on  the  main  trail  from 
the  Iroquois  towns  to  the  Indians  of  the  south.  In  1769  Roth 
and  his  wife  removed  to  Schechschiquanink,  a  Delaware  town 
twenty-four  miles  to  the  north  and  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river.  From  this  filial  Friedenshiitten  received  accessions,  and 
here  Roth  won  a  number  of  converts.  John  George  Jung- 
mann,  once  a  hearer  of  Eschenbach  at  Oley,  and  his  wife,  a 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S.  $1 

daughter  of  Biittner  of  Shekomeko,  filled  the  vacancy  at  Wyalu- 
sing. 

Zeisberger  had  been  assigned  pioneer  work.  With  Anthony, 
the  Mohican,  and  Papunhank  he  had  set  out  for  the  forests  of 
the  present  Venango  County.  Goschgoschiink,  a  Muncie  town, 
founded  only  two  years  before,  was  their  objective.  Its  repu- 
tation was  extremely  unsavory  even  amongst  the  heathen,  past 
whose  scanty  lodges  they  had  to  thread  their  way.  Some  of 
its  braves  had  figured  in  the  massacre  on  the  Mahoni  in  1755. 
His  first  address  at  this  spot  was  a  thrilling  experience.  In  the 
long  council-hall  of  bark  the  ruddy  glow  of  the  central  fires  lit 
up  dusky  faces  that  gleamed  with  hate.  But  the  power  of  the 
truth,  and  the  eloquence  of  the  veteran  missionary,  more  than 
the  equal  of  the  average  Delaware  orator  in  his  own  sonorous 
tongue,  commanded  attention,  and  secured  immunity.  On  his 
return  next  year  trophies  were  won  for  the  gospel.  Yet  the 
place  proved  a  veritable  stronghold  of  Satan.  Though  the 
medicine  man  who  had  been  loudest  in  his  opposition,  Wango- 
men,  suffered  his  lodge  to  be  converted  into  a  church  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  found  a  mission,  the  wily  fellow  was  far 
from  having  experienced  a  change  of  heart,  and  in  time  resumed 
open  hostility.  Gradually  the  people  divided  into  a  Christian 
and  a  heathen  party.  Life  became  so  unbearable  for  the  con- 
verts, that  in  1769  a  new  site  was  selected  for  their  village  three 
miles  above,  at  Lawmakhannek,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river 
Allegheny. 

Xow  an  invitation  came  through  Glikkikan,  a  sachem  re- 
nowned for  sagacity  and  eloquence,  hitherto  a  champion  of 
heathenism,  but  recently  impressed  by  what  he  had  heard  on 
a  visit  to  Goschgoschiink.  In  the  name  of  the  supreme  chief 
of  the  Wolf  clan  of  the  Delawares,  Packanke,  he  promised  the 
missionary  and  his  converts  land  at  Kaskaskunk,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Shenango  and  the  Mahoni,  for  their  exclusive 
and  undisturbed  possession.  The  invitation  v.as  accepted.  In 
April.  1770.  the  journey  was  made  in  fifteen  canoes  by  way  of 
the  Allegheny,  the  Ohio  and  the  Beaver,  and  Friedensstadt  was 
founded  on  the  last  named  river.  Xow  the  triumph  of  the  gos- 
pel was  signalized  by  the  accession  of  certain  of  the  former 
heathen  party  from  Goschgoschunk  whose  wickedness  had  be- 
come a  reproach  even  to  their  own  people,  and  by  the  conver- 
sion of  Glikkikan  himself.     \*eteran  warrior  though  he  was,  this 


52  A    HISTORY    OF 

rebutter  of  the  Jesuits  in  former  days,  who  had  baffled  Post  and 
whose  native  abihty  had  been  counted  upon  as  a  main  stay  of 
the  heathen,  sobbed  hke  a  child,  when  the  love  of  Christ  touched 
his  proud  heart.  Unflinchingly  he  not  only  bore  the  passionate 
reproaches  of  his  chief,  Packanke,  but  even  interposed  to 
avert  from  the  white  teachers  the  wrath  of  the  old  Wolf.  Next 
spring  Zeisberger  with  several  Indians,  Glikkikan  included,  by 
invitation  visited  the  Delawares  of  the  Tuscarawas  River  in 
Ohio  and  preached  before  their  council  in  the  home  of  Neta- 
watwes  (King  Newcomer),  the  recognized  head  of  the  nation. 

By  June,  1771,  Friedenshiitten  numbered  one  hundred  mem- 
bers. But  troubles  were  at  hand.  Though  the  Iroquois  had 
solemnly  ratified  the  grant  of  land  on  the  Wyalusing,  at  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  November,  1768,  they  had  sold  it  to 
Pennsylvania.  John  Penn  had  recognized  the  validity  of  the 
verbal  grant  to  the  mission  and  its  Indians,  and  instructed  his 
surveyors  to  run  no  lines  within  five  miles  of  Friendenshiitten. 
But  an  artful  Delaware,  Job  Chilloway,  to  whom  the  govern- 
ment was  under  obligation  for  sundry  services  in  the  Pontiac 
War,  represented  to  the  authorities  that  he  had  been  empowered 
by  the  Moravian  Indians  to  ask  for  a  survey  of  Wyalusing,  to 
secure  their  rights.  Hence  the  tenure  of  the  land  threatened  to 
involve  disputes.  At  this  juncture  an  invitation  from  the  Grand 
Council  of  the  Delawares  in  the  Tuscarawas  Valley,  that  their 
Christian  brothers  should  come  and  occupy  lands  in  Ohio,  ac- 
companied as  it  was  with  the  assurance  that  these  should 
never  be  "sold  under  their  feet  to  the  white  people,"  was  grate- 
fully accepted.  Zeisberger  recommended  the  removal  thither  of 
all  the  converts  from  Pennsylvania.  To  this  the  western  sta- 
tion also  assented.  Netawatwes  proposed  as  a  site  "The  Big 
Spring"  beside  the  Tuscarawas. 

John  Heckewelder,  whose  acquaintance  with  the  Delawares 
dated  from  his  residence  with  Post-Bear  the  present  Bolivar  in 
Stark  County,  Ohio,  in  1762,  was  appointed  to  cooperate  with 
Zeisberger  and  his  colleagues.  This  reenforcement  left  the 
veteran  free  to  lead  an  advance  party  to  the  Tuscarawas  in  the 
spring  of  1772,  to  prepare  for  the  arrival  of  the  main  body.  The 
luxuriance  of  the  forests  and  the  rich  fertiUty  of  the  bottom- 
lands as  well  as  the  copious  gush  of  water  from  the  "Big 
Spring"  deHghted  the  first  comers.  Late  in  the  summer  Zeisber- 
ger returned  to  Friedensstadt  and  welcomed  the  people  from 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  53 

the  Susciuclianna,  two  hundred  and  four  souls  who  arrived  in 
two  companies  under  the  leadership  of  Bishop  Ettwein  and 
Roth  respectively.  Then  leaving  Roth  in  charge  of  Frieden.s- 
stadt,  they  made  their  way  to  their  new  home  to  which  they 
gave  the  fitting  name  of  Sclwnbnom  ("Beautiful  Spring").  Next 
year  the  converts  on  the  Beaver  also  took  the  western  trail.  A 
second  station  was  commenced  about  ten  ftiilcs  down  the  val- 
ley, designed  oriq^inally  for  the  remnant  of  the  Mohican  con-  .^^ ,«c**.te*- 
gregations.  fcftfri=-i:,-xe^eived  the  name  of  Gnadenhiitten,' to  /^^'^>-*-/*. 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  spot  on  the  Mahoni,  rendered 
sacred  by  the  martyrdom  of  missionaries.  Four  years  from 
the  removal  to  the  west  a  third  station  was  begun  in  the  present 
Coshocton  County,  and  named  Lichtcnan  (Meadow  of  Light); 
but  was  abandoned  three  years  later  owing  to  its  being  in  the 
track  of  incessant  war-parties.  In  its  place  Salem  was  com- 
menced, five  miles  below  Gnadenhiitten. 

Xow  the  mission  seemed  to  have  been  at  last  placed  on  a 
permanent  basis.  Netawatwes  came  out  on  the  side  of  Chris- 
tianity. Numerous  bands  of  Indians  from  all  parts  visited  the 
Christian  settlements.  Its  influence  spreading  far  and  wide, 
the  mission  promised  to  achieve  a  mighty  change  amongst  the 
"People  of  the  wandering  eye  and  the  roving  foot."  The  church 
at  Schonbrunn,  although  able  to  accommodate  five  hundred  per- 
sons, often  proved  too  small.  The  six  missionaries  whose  de- 
voted lives  were  as  powerfully  eloquent  a  testimony  as  their 
words,  found  abundant  opportunity  to  ofTer  the  gift  of  grace. 
Civilization  advanced.  Several  hundred  acres  were  under  cul- 
tivation. Large  herds  of  cattle  were  maintained.  Non-com- 
batant principles  were  an  inseparble  part  of  the  religion  of  the 
converts.  It  seemed  as  though  the  true  solution  of  the  Indian 
problem  was  to  enjoy  an  opportunity  of  being  demonstrated  to 
the  world.  But,  alas !  cruel  war  again  obstructed  the  chariot 
of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

To  its  sad  misfortune  both  Americans  and  British  viewed  the 
mission  askance ;  the  latter  because  to  their  influence  was 
ascribed  the  only  restraint,  which  prevented  large  masses  of 
Delawares  from  enlisting  under  the  standard  of  King  George, 
the  former  from  unfounded  prejudice  and  suspicion  that  the 
mission  stations  harbored  red-skins  in  British  pay,  and  formed 
the  rendezvous  of  raiders.  Despite  all  apprehensions,  however, 
the  missionaries  faithfully  kept  their  posts,  and  the  internal  con- 


54  A    HISTORY    OF 

dition  of  the  congregations  was  a  source  of  satisfaction.  Amidst 
war's  alarms  the  dusky  converts,  some  of  whom  had  formerly- 
achieved  a  name  as  warriors,  zealously  pursued  the  arts  of 
peace,  and  meadow  and  orchard  and  field  responded  to  their 
industry. 

On  August  10,  1781,  there  appeared  at  Salem  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men — Indians  and  whites — under  British  officers  and 
bearing  the  British  flag.  Soon  their  number  was  increased  to 
three  hundred.  After  many  councils  had  been  held  by  the 
members  of  this  war-party,  whose  mutual  disagreements  alone 
saved  the  missionaries  and  their  converts  from  a  cruel  death, 
all  were  made  unresisting  prisoners  on  September  4.  The  mis- 
sion-houses were  plundered.  On  the  nth  the  sad  exodus  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  Christian  Indian  villages  com- 
menced. Five  thousand  bushels  of  almost  ripe  but  unharvested 
corn  were  left  behind,  as  well  as  garden  produce  and  poultry 
and  all  property  save  what  could  be  transported  by  the  prisoners 
on  pack-horses  or  in  canoes.  Valuable  manuscripts  were  also 
involved  in  the  general  loss.  At  the  Sandusky  their  captors 
deserted  them  on  October  i,  in  the  midst  of  an  utter  wilderness, 
with  no  other  provisions  than  the  cattle  they  had  driven  before 
them.  Soon  there  came  a  summons  to  the  missionaries  to 
proceed  to  Detroit  for  trial  as  American  spies.  Though  no 
armed  guard  compelled  obedience,  they  responded,  relying  on 
their  innocence.  The  trial  took  place  on  November  9,  Major 
de  Peyster,  the  commandant  presiding.  British  fairness  insured 
the  verdict — a  complete  acquittal.  But  the  disaster  to  the  mis- 
sion could  not  be  compensated  for  by  courteous  words,  even 
though  formal  permission  was  given  to  the  missionaries  to  re- 
turn and  without  hindrance  renew  their  spiritual  calling. 

This  was  a  dreadful  winter  for  the  refugees  on  the  Sandusky. 
Starvation  was  not  far  ofT.  A  pint  of  corn  a  day  was  the  al- 
lowance for  each  member  of  the  missionary  family,  and  in  the 
extreme  cold  the  suffering  was  very  great.  The  heathen  around 
them  gloried  in  the  distress  of  teachers  and  converts,  and 
even  threatened  to  take  the  lives  of  the  missionaries,  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  erect  a  chapel.  At  length  in  despair 
a  party  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Christian  Indians  ob- 
tained permission  from  their  savage  neighbors  to  return  to  the 
Tuscarawas  Valley  and  secure  whatever  of  their  corn  of  the 
previous  year  might  still  remain  unspoiled. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  55 

This  band  soon  experienced  the  terrible  consequences  of 
American  distrust.  These  Christian  red-men  who  had  consist- 
ently refused  to  take  up  arms  in  self-defense,  were  unjustly 
charged  by  American  frontiersmen  with  various  outrages  and 
massacres  that  had  enraged  and  terrified  the  border-settlements 
during  this  winter,  and  in  particular  with  the  horrible  murder 
of  the  family  of  William  Wallace.  About  ninety  men  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  David  Williamson  had  set  out  from 
the  settlements  on  the  Monongahela,  determined  to  wreak  ven- 
geance for  this  dastardly  crime. 

The  Moravian  Indians,  after  completing  their  delayed  har- 
vest, had  intended  to  begin  their  return  journey  to  Sandusky  on 
March  7,  having  succeeded  beyond  expectations  in  gather- 
ing their  belated  aftermath.  It  was  on  the  evening  before  this 
appointed  day  that  the  Americans  arrived  in  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity. They  were  hospitably  entertained  without  a  suspicion 
of  mistrust  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  red-men,  who  seem  to 
have  been  wholly  ignorant  of  even  the  fact  of  the  massacres 
which  had  occasioned  the  expedition.  Indeed  the  Salem  Indians 
came  to  Gnadenhutten  to  voluntarily  place  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  Colonel  Williamson,  whom  they  regarded  as 
their  deilverer  from  troubles  originating  in  Detroit.  In  cold 
blood,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  ninety  Christian  and  six 
heathen  Indians,  who  were  visitors — none  of  them  striking  a 
blow  in  self-defense — fell  in  what  were  aptly  named  the 
"slaughter-houses,"  meeting  their  faith  with  noble  resignation. 
Five  of  them  had  been  serving  acceptably  as  assistant  mission- 
aries. The  pious  exhortations  of  Abraham,  the  Mohican,  pre- 
pared his  companions  for  martyrdom.  Only  two  lads  escaped 
to  tell  the  tidings.  Providentially,  however,  the  full  completion 
of  the  atrocious  designs  of  the  militia  was  frustrated.  The 
Schonbrunn  Indians  received  warning  in  time  and  fled  to  the 
Sandusky. 

On  their  arrival  they  found  that  Zeisberger  and  his  com- 
panions had  again  been  summoned  to  Detroit  by  Major  De 
Peyster,  on  false  accusation  of  an  Indian  chief  whose  warlike 
schemes  they  had  formerly  thwarted.  The  new  charge  was  that 
of  aiding  the  Americans  by  corresponding  with  Pittsburgh.  As 
a  matter  of  course,  they  were  cleared.  The  sympathetic  com- 
mandant, however,  counseled  a  removal  from  debatable  terri- 
torv.     His  advice  was  followed.     The  remnant  of  the  scattered 


56  A    HISTORY    OF 

converts  by  way  of  Lake  St.  Clair  sought  a  home  in  the  Chip- 
peway  country  in  Michigan,  and  founded  New  Gnadenhiitten  in 
what  is  now  IMacomb  County,  where  tliey  remained  four  years. 

Meanwhile  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  the  Brethren  at 
Bethlehem  petitioned  Congress  for  compensation  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  missions  in  Ohio,  and  in  May,  1785,  Congress 
passed  an  act  reserving  the  sites  of  these  settlements  to- 
gether with  as  much  land  as  Mr.  Hutchins,  the  Geographer 
of  the  United  States,  might  see  fit,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Chris- 
tian Indians  and  their  children  forever.  Several  years,  how- 
ever, passed  by  before  the  survey  could  be  completed.  This 
was  owing  in  part  to  the  death  of  Mr,  Hutchins,  but  chiefly  to 
the  distracted  state  of  the  Indian  country  and  the  hostility  which 
the  tribes  manifested  towards  the  United  States. 

Their  longing  for  the  old  homes  by  the  Tuscarawas,  and 
the  setting  apart  of  the  reservation  by  Congress  in  response  to 
the  petition  of  Ettwein  and  others  after  peace  had  been  re- 
stored, led  a  party  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  to  set  out 
from  the  Chippeway  land.  But  they  halted  at  the  Cuyahoga, 
for  it  seemed  madness  to  proceed  while  American  sentiment 
remained  intensely  hostile  to  the  Indian  race.  Here  Pilgerruh 
was  founded.  In  1787  New  Salem  on  the  Petquotting — the 
Huron  River  of  Ohio,  emptying  into  Lake  Erie — took  the  place 
of  this  temporary  refuge,  and  bloomed  into  speedy  prosperity. 

Moreover  the  year  1787  was  marked  by  the  resuscitation  at 
Bethlehem  of  the  old  missionary  society  of  1745,  under  the  title 
of  "The  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  Hea- 
then." Its  first  meeting  was  held  September  21,  Ettwein  being 
President,  Hans  Christian  Alexander  von  Schweinitz,  Treasurer, 
and  Jacob  Van  Vleck  Secretary,  with  a  total  membership  of 
ninety-three.  In  his  address  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  society, 
held  on  November  i,  Bishop  Ettwein  defined  its  object  in  sub- 
stance as  follows :  "Every  member  of  the  Brethren's  Unity  is 
bound  to  take  part  in  furthering  the  missionary  work  of  the 
church;  but  those  who  join  this  association  pledge  themselves 
in  a  particular  manner  to  do  all  within  their  power  to  further 
Christ's  kingdom  among  the  heathen  nations,  and  confess  be- 
fore the  world  that  they  love  the  whole  human  race  and  take  a 
deep  interest  in  the  eternal  salvation  of  such  as  still  sit  in  the 
darkness  of  heathenism."  A  charter  was  obtained  from  the  As- 
sembly of  Pennsylvania  and  signed  by  the  Governor  on  February 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  57 

27,  178S.  Ettwein  communicated  to  General  Washington  that 
organization  had  been  effected,  and  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  rules 
and  a  manuscript  of  his  own  on  the  manners,  customs  and 
languages  of  the  Indians.  The  reply,  under  date  of  May  2.  1788, 
was  in  keeping  with  his  Christian  and  courteous  character.  It 
reads  as  follows : 

"Dear  Sir: — I  have  received  your  obliging  letter  of  March 

28,  inclosing  a  copy  of  some  remarks  on  the  customs,  languages, 
etc.,  of  the  Indians,  and  a  printed  pamphlet  containing  the 
stated  rules  of  a  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the 
Heathen ;  for  which  tokens  of  polite  attention  and  kind  remem- 
brance I  must  beg  you  to  accept  my  best  thanks. 

"So  far  as  I  am  able  of  judging,  the  principles  upon  which  the 
Society  is  founded,  and  the  rules  laid  down  for  its  government, 
appear  to  be  well  calculated  to  promote  so  laudable  and  arduous 
an  undertaking;  and  you  will  permit  me  to  add  that  if  an  event 
so  long  and  so  ardently  desired  as  that  of  converting  the  Indians 
to  Christianity  can  be  effected,  the  Society  at  Bethlehem  bids 
fair  to  be  a  very  considerable  part  in  it. 

"With  sentiments  of  esteem,  I  am  your  most  obedient,  humble 
servant,  Geo.  Washington." 

But  in  spite  of  this  distinguished  evidence  of  appreciation,  the 
turbulence  of  the  Northwest  Territory  in  1790  rendered  the 
maintenance  of  New  Salem  exceedingly  improbable.  Next 
year  threats  of  a  repetition  of  the  massacre  came  from 
Indians  who  were  banded  against  the  United  States,  with 
the  overt  intention  of  thus  compelling  the  Christians  to  don 
the  war-paint  against  the  whites.  This  at  length  constrained 
Zeisberger  and  his  associates  to  remove  with  some  of  their  con- 
verts to  Canadian  territory.  Accordingly  in  April,  1792,  he 
proceeded  with  Senseman  and  Edwards  and  the  whole  congre- 
gation to  the  French  River — later  called  the  Thames — and  about 
eighty  miles  from  its  mouth  and  on  the  right  bank  founded  the 
Christian  Indian  village  of  Fairfield  amidst  the  Muncies  and 
Chippeways.  Thus  at  last  and  at  so  great  sacrifice  permanence 
was  secured. 


58  A   HISTORY    OF 


^\ 


4- 


CHAPTER  VI.      ¥  ' 


■iT 


THE  MISSIONS  TO  THE  HEATHEN   IN  THE  PERIOD   PRECEDING  AND 
IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THEIR  JUBILEE. 

Amid  all  changes  in  methods  of  administration  at  home  and 
in  spite  of  perplexities  in  the  financial  situation,  the  church  ever 
regarded  the  missions  amongst  the  heathen  as  its  chief  calling. 
Diligence  and  persistence  characterized  their  prosecution. 
Hence  at  the  synod  of  1789  about  14,000  members  were  re- 
ported in  the  West  Indies  and  about  18,000  in  connection  with 
the  other  mission  fields. 

In  Greenland  the  fifties  had  been  an  era  of  steady  progress, 
though  cares  were  not  lacking.  The  winter  of  1752  to  1753 
was  terribly  cold.  Storms  raged,  famine  threatened,  and  an 
epidemic  carried  oft  sixty  of  the  four  hundred  members, 
amongst  them  several  of  the  most  skillful  hunters  and  fisher- 
men. Nevertheless,  when  a  few  years  later  tidings  reached 
Greenland  of  the  destruction  of  Gnadenhiitten  on  the  Mahoni^ 
the  Eskimos  testified  to  their  sympathy  by  offerings  of  skins 
and  blubber  for  those  who  had  been  rendered  homeless. 

About  ninety  miles  south  from  New  Herrnhut  Matthew 
Stach  in  1758  founded  a  second  station,  Lichtenfels,  on  an 
island  in  a  fjord  three  miles  from  the  open  sea.  In  a  few  years 
two  hundred  converted  Eskimos  formed  a  village  around  him, 
whilst  the  numbers  at  New  Herrnhut  rose  to  five  hundred  and 
forty.  It  was  a  time  of  powerful  awakening.  The  people 
trembled  with  emotion.  Some  hurried  away  in  haste  as  soon 
as  a  service  was  over,  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  shake  off  their  im- 
pressions and  ran  as  though  pursued;  but  found  no  peace  till 
self-surrender  had  been  made. 

In  1763  Frederick  Bohnisch  died,  the  first  of  the  missionaries 
in  Greenland  to  be  called  home.  Matthew  Stach,  who  had  pre- 
pared a  brief  Eskimo  grammar  and  lexicon,  retired  in  1771,  and 
spent  his  last  days   at   Bethabara  in  North   Carolina.       John 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  59 

Beck,  in  1770.  had  the  satisfaction  of  welcoming  two  of  his 
sons  at  New  Herrnhut,  and  cried  out,  "Now  I  may  depart  in 
peace,  for  my  prayer  has  been  heard,  and  I  see  my  sons  here 
at  my  post."  They  had  come  out  with  Martin  Godfrey  Stern- 
berg, who  had  been  officially  commissioned  to  visit  Greenland, 
in  order  to  amend  regulations  that  were  the  outgrowth  of  the 
extravagancies  of  the  forties  at  home.  In  consequence  of  this 
visit  Christopher  Michael  Konigseer,  hitherto  warden  at  Gna- 
denberg,  was  sent  to  superintend  operations. 

In  1774  the  plan  of  establishing  a  third  station,  Lichtenau, 
on  the  island  of  Onartok,  about  four  hundred  miles  south  of 
New  tierrnhut,  was  carried  out  by  John  Sorensen.  It  was  he 
who  at  Marienborn,  in  1746,  when  Zinzendorf  asked  him,  "Will 
you  set  out  to-morrow  for  Greenland?"  replied  "Yes,  if  I  can 
get  from  the  shoemaker  a  pair  of  boots  he  is  making  for  me." 
Having  set  out  on  that  morrow,  he  had  been  in  service  in 
Greenland  ever  since.  Lichtenau  blossomed  out  with  speedy 
success.  By  the  winter  of  1775  to  1776  nearly  two  hundred 
persons  had  established  homes  adjacent  to  the  mission  house, 
and  in  a  few  years  the  baptized  numbered  one  hundred  and  five. 

Kunigseer's  trained  mind  and  linguistic  abilities  were  now 
pressed  into  service  for  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament, 
Beck  lending  him  the  aid  of  his  long  familiarity  with  the  Es- 
kimo tongue.  An  Eskimo  Hymn-book  and  a  Summary  of 
Christian  Doctrine  were  also  undertaken  and  were  printed  at 
Barby  in  1785.  Portions  of  the  New  Testament  and  of  the  Idea 
Fidci  Fratrutti,  and  a  grammar  and  dictionary  in  manuscript 
were  also  fruits  of  Konigseer's  industry. 

In  1776  certain  regulations  were  introduced  by  the  Danish 
trading  company,  which  proved  detrimental  to  the  mission 
under  existing  methods.  In  order  to  possibly  increase  the 
volume  of  trade  in  peltries,  the  Greenlanders  were  required  to 
scatter  along  the  coast,  and  were  not  permitted  to  dwell  in 
settlements  of  any  size.  This  dispersion  of  the  people  inevitably 
detracted  from  the  steady  and  continuous  influence  of  Chris- 
tian usages  and  institutions.  Nor  did  the  expedient  of  appoint- 
ing assistants,  to  minister  to  groups  of  natives  at  a  distance 
from  each  station,  compensate. 

Then  followed  another  fatal  epidemic.  From  April  to  August, 
1782,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  perished  in  New  Herrnhut 
alone,  amongst  whom  were  a  number  of  valued  native  assist- 


60  A    HISTORY    OF 

ants.  Konigseer  himself  was  absent  at  this  time  in  Germany. 
After  his  return  he  was  spared  but  three  years  more,  dying  in 
1786,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  succeeded  in 
the  superintendence  by  Jasper  Brodersen,  well  qualified  to  take 
up  the  philologian's  mantle.  Historical  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  part  of  the  Prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  hymns  in 
the  Greenland  language  were  the  fruit  of  his  leisure.  But  in 
1792  he  was  compelled  by  a  shattered  constitution  to  return  to 
a  temperate  climate.  With  him  came  Sorensen,  after  forty- 
eight  years  in  the  Arctic. 

In  Labrador,  where  Samuel  Liebisch  took  general  charge  in 
1775,  although  Okak  was  established  in  1776  and  Hopedale  in 
1782,  progress  was  slow.  The  year  1782  was  rendered  mem- 
orable by  a  remarkable  providential  deUverance.  Liebisch  and 
William  Turner  set  out  from  Nain  for  Okak  on  March  11  in  a 
dog  sleigh.  Their  route  lay  across  the  frozen  sea.  Though 
the  distance  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  for  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  way  they  had  to  pass  over  very  deep  water, 
preferable  on  account  of  the  smoothness  of  the  ice,  under  the 
favorable  atmospheric  conditions  of  their  start  no  special 
anxiety  was  entertained.  But  in  the  afternoon  there  were  in- 
dications of  a  coming  storm.  The  heaving  of  the  restless 
ocean  could  be  felt  under  its  icy  covering.  By  evening  the 
wind  had  become  a  gale  that  whirled  the  snow  with  blinding 
violence.  The  undulations  of  the  vast  sheet  of  ice,  several 
yards  thick,  began  to  impede  progress.  Soon  the  ice  com- 
menced to  burst  with  the  sound  of  heavy  ordnance.  Only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty,  and  in  the  very  nick  of  time,  did  the  trav- 
elers make  the  shore.  Scarcely  had  they  effected  a  landing, 
when  the  ice  for  miles  along  the  coast  broke  up  with  the  vio- 
lence of  the  storm  amid  terrific  noise.  The  Eskimo  com- 
panions of  the  missionaries  built  a  snow  house  on  the  beach. 
Thankful  for  this  refuge  in  the  piercing  cold,  they  had  but  set- 
tled down  to  rest,  when  Liebisch,  who  could  not  sleep  owing 
to  a  painfully  sore  throat  and  the  howling  of  the  storm  outside, 
perceived  that  salt  water  was  trickling  through  the  roof. 
Hastil)'  digging  a  passage  through  the  side  of  the  house,  they 
were  hardly  at  a  safe  distance,  when  a  mighty  wave  carried 
away  their  abandoned  resting  place.  A  hole  cut  into  a  snow- 
bank was  their  sole  resource  till  morning.  Their  scanty  supply 
of  provisions  had  to  be  carefuly  eked  out  for  several  days  in  a 


MORAVIAN    MISSIOXS.  6 1 

new  snow-liut.  On  the  13th  the  storm  abated,  but  the  sea  was 
absolutely  clear  of  ice,  and  it  was  impossible  to  proceed  or  to 
return.  Not  until  twelve  oclock  on  the  night  of  the  17th  did 
they  at  last  succeed  in  once  more  making  their  starting-place, 
Nain,  grateful  for  the  marvellous  protection  of  God. 

At  Hopedale  the  outlook  was  at  first  exceedingly  discourag- 
ing. An  eagerness  to  be  taught  had  been  displayed  by  the  na- 
tives ;  "but  in  their  words  and  demeanor  the  evil  influence  of 
intercourse  with  dissolute  European  traders  living  farther  south 
was  painfully  evident.  The  majority  seemed  to  care  more  for 
the  advantage  of  the  ship's  annual  visit  and  the  accommodation 
of  the  trade  than  for  the  blessing  of  Christian  training  and  in- 
struction. The  traders  put  forth  every  effort  to  keep  the  Eski- 
mos away  from  missionaries,  and  with  only  too  great  success. 
Articles  of  food  and  luxury,  and  especially  intoxicating  liquors, 
were  offered  as  an  almost  irresistible  bribe,  and  once  entangled 
in  the  snares  of  these  men,  the  poor  Eskimos  were  made  use  of 
with  diabolical  skill  and  malice  to  tempt  their  countrymen  to 
their  destruction.  The  evil  influence  spread  to  all  three  sta- 
tions, and  considerable  numbers  from  each  made  their  way  to 
the  south.  A  spirit  of  indifference  and  levity  became  gener- 
ally diffused,  and  much  opposition  and  defiance  were  shown  to 
their  teachers.  While  boldly  demanding  in  a  season  of  scarcity 
to  be  supported  by  the  mission,  they  took  all  the  produce  of 
the  chase  to  the  southlanders,  so  that  the  ship  returned  with 
scarcely  any  cargo,  and  serious  apprehension  arose  as  to  the 
pecuniary  means  for  continuing  the  mission.  Exhortations  and 
remonstrances  of  the  missionaries  had  little  or  no  effect ;  an 
admirable  letter  from  the  pen  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Span- 
genberg,  which  touched  the  hearts  of  many,  only  sufficed  to 
check  them  a  while  in  their  evil  course.  The  missionaries  were 
by  no  means  inclined  to  lay  this  decline  wholly  to  the  charge 
of  the  natives ;  they  deplored  their  own  ignorance  and  inexperi- 
ence, and  blamed  themselves  for  many  mistakes  made  in  the 
treatment  of  individuals,  for  too  hastily  admitting  to  member- 
ship people  who  had  strong  religious  convictions  and  cherished 
many  good  desires  and  resolutions  in  regard  to  conversion,  but 
who  were  realh-  not  solidly  awakened.  'We  are  working  in  a 
kind  of  twilight,'  they  wrote.  'Many  a  time  were  we  made 
anxious  by  the  duplicity  and  relapses  into  sin  of  the  baptized, 
and  our  Saviour  knows  best  what  distress  and  perplexity  were 


62  A    HISTORY    OF 

thereby  occasioned  to  us,  little  as  we  were  able,  with  all  our 
care  and  watchfulness,  to  prevent  what  we  so  greatly  de- 
plored.' "  Drachart  and  Haven  were  both  spared  the  experi- 
ence of  the  worst  of  this  time  of  trial.  The  former  died  at  Nain 
in  1778.  The  latter  retired  to  Europe  in  1784,  Liebisch  having 
preceded  him  by  one  year,  appointed  a  member  of  the  govern- 
ing board  of  the  church.  For  a  brief  period  Christian  Lister 
and  then  Christian  Lewis  Rose  served  as  superintendent. 

In  the  Danish  West  Indies,  on-  the  other  hand,  a  rapid  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  converts  was  now  a  marked  feature. 
In  the  year  1771  Nisky  became  an  independent  station,  and 
Friedensberg  at  the  western  end  of  St.  Croix  was  similarly 
equipped.  Yet  the  great  naval  war  between  the  European 
powers  interrupted  connections  with  home,  and  all  intercourse 
with  English  lands  was  prohibited  in  1760.  Scarcity  of  pro- 
visions followed,  being  enhanced  by  protracted  drought.  In 
1765  losses  were  suffered  by  the  burning  of  a  mission  house  on 
St.  Croix  and  the  destruction  of  the  church  on  St.  John  by  a 
storm.  The  night  of  August  31,  1772,  became  memorable  for 
years  through  the  ravages  of  a  hurricane  which  caused  much 
damage  on  all  three  islands,  but  especially  on  St.  Croix.  Frien- 
densberg  mission  house  suffered  severely,  and  the  entire  station 
of  Friedensthal  was  obliterated,  the  missionaries  and  their  fam- 
ilies barely  saving  their  lives  by  taking  refuge  in  cellars.  Gen- 
eral scarcity,  famine,  sickness  and  wide-spread  mortality  en- 
sued. But  the  blessings  of  adversity  became  manifest  in  the 
turning  of  hearts  to  the  things  which  can  not  be  shaken.  When 
the  PYiedensthal  church  was  rebuilt  its  auditories  numbered  a 
thousand,  and  baptisms  added  to  the  number  of  believers  month 
by  month.  The  presentation  of  land  on  St.  John  by  Commandant 
Von  Malleville  of  St.  Thomas  made  possible  the  founding  of 
Emmaus,  as  a  companion  station  to  Bethany  in  1782.  During 
the  fifty  years  of  the  mission  in  the  Danish  West  Indies,  8,835 
adults  and  2,974  children  had  been  baptized.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  members  of  missionary  families  had  entered  into 
rest,  including  children. 

In  1784  valuable  service  was  rendered  the  mission  by  an 
official  visit  on  the  part  of  John  Loretz.  He  promoted  the  de- 
velopment of  systematic  division  of  spiritual  labor  and  the 
establishment  of  a  local  conference  of  supervision.  Martin. 
Mack  had  died  on  June  9.  having  barely  overlived  the  arrival 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  6^ 

of  his  successor,  Scliaukirch  from  America.  Native  assistants 
were  now  more  widely  utilized,  especially  for  the  instruction  of 
candidates  and  for  the  administration  of  discipline.  Prominent 
amongst  these  Cornelius,  a  freed-man,  gifted  with  unusual  na- 
tive ability,  and  deeply  devout,  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-four,  and  served  the  mission  most  acceptably  for  forty- 
seven  years.  "He  spoke  Danish,  Dutch,  EngUsh  and  German, 
enjoyed  universal  respect  among  all  ranks,  and  was  so  diligent 
and  successful  in  his  trade  as  a  mason  that  he  had  been  able  to 
purchase  the  freedom  of  himself  and  his  family.  His  unwearied 
faithfulness  in  visiting  day  and  night  the  negroes  on  the  scat- 
tered plantations  led  great  numbers  of  the  poor  slaves  to  grate- 
fully regard  him  as  their  spiritual  father,  while  his  clear  and 
persuasive  preaching  attracted  men  of  rank  and  education,  who 
heard  him  with  pleasure  and  profit." 

The  translation  of  portions  of  Scripture  and  of  the  Harmony 
of  the  Four  EvangeHsts  and  of  the  Summary  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine into  Negro-English  and  the  printing  of  a  Negro-English 
Hymn-book  also  materially  facilitated  the  work  and  provided 
for  its  permanence. 

In  the  English  islands  the  feature  of  periodicity  prevailed, 
eras  of  advance  and  retrogression  alternating. 

In  Antigua,  Isles  died  at  his  post  in  1764,  having  barely  ac- 
complished the  organization  of  the  native  church.  The  small 
congregation  was  reduced  to  sore  straights  by  the  time  his  suc- 
cessor, Peter  Brown,  arrived  from  Pennsylvania,  in  1769,  to 
become  the  second  founder  of  this  mission.  A  native  of  the 
Palatinate,  he  had  served  chiefly  as  a  teacher  in  America,  but 
ever  betrayed  his  German  birth  in  his  speech.  It  was  not, 
therefore,  in  virtue  of  the  graces  of  rhetoric  that  his  ministry 
became  distinguished  for  signal  fruitfuTness?"  Devoted  fidelity 
and  unconquerable  love  were  his  best  gifts.  Msiting  the  de- 
spised blacks  in  their  huts  and  taking  advantage  of  the  mid-day 
rest  in  the  fields,  by  his  loving  sympathy  he  showed  himself  a 
brother  or  a  father.  Benjamin  Brookshaw  from  Fulneck,  in 
England,  who  joined  him  in  1771.  proved  a  most  acceptable 
coadjutor,  when  former  assistants  had  to  leave  on  account  of 
the  failure  of  their  health.  But  he  was  granted  less  than  two 
years  of  activity ;  and  when  Brown's  wife  also  died,  soon  after, 
the  outlook  was  very  trying.  Then  Fulneck  furnished  another 
colleague.  John  Meder.  a  Livonian  bv  birth.     Native  assistants 


64  A    HISTORY    OF 

were  judiciously  emplo3-ed.  Ground  for  a  second  station  was 
purchased  in  1774  at  Bailyhill,  near  the  town  of  Falmouth  (ex- 
changed in  1782  for  Gracehiil,  as  more  convenient).  Samuel 
Watson,  a  man  of  eminent  gifts,  became  Brown's  colleague  in 
1776.  "In  1791  Brown  had  to  retire  from  the  scene  of  his 
twenty  years'  faithful,  humble,  but  apostolic  service,  thoroughly 
worn  out  in  it ;  and  in  the  following  year  Watson  died,  in  his 
forty-ninth  year,  and  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  two  thousand 
persons  of  all  classes  and  colors.  The  number  in  charge  of  the 
Brethren  had  grown  between  the  years  1769  and  1792  from  14 
to  7,400;  of  these  the  majority  were  baptized." 

One  of  the  crosses  inevitably  to  be  endured  so  long  as  slavery 
lasted,  was  the  removal  of  converts  to  islands  devoid  of  gospel 
privileges.  The  more  ready,  therefore,  were  the  Brethren  to 
respond,  when  John  Gardiner,  a  prominent  solicitor  and  planter 
in  the  neighboring  island  of  St.  Kitts,  requested  missionaries 
for  the  instruction  of  his  slaves.  In  1777  Gottwald  and  Birkby 
were  sent.  Mr.  Gardiner's  kind  offices  secured  for  them  the 
countenance  and  assistance  of  the  governor.  Preaching  was 
commenced  at  Basseterre  and  at  Palmetto  Point,  the  estate  of 
their  earliest  benefactor,  and  when  Gottwald's  failing  health 
compelled  retirement  in  1787,  the  congregation  numbered 
about  one  hundred  persons.  Schneller  and  Reichel,  who  were 
next  associated,  carried  the  work  forward  with  even  greater 
rapidity.  The  former  alone  statedly  visited  about  fifty  planta- 
tions, and  by  the  close  of  the  century  the  Moravian  negroes 
numbered  more  than  two  thousand.  Moravians  and  Metho- 
dists, in  hearty  fellowship,  had  effected  a  change  in  the  character 
of  the  slave  population. 

The  year  1765  witnessed  an  attempt  in  Barbadoes,  the  pio- 
neers being  John  Wood  and  Andrew  Rittmansberger ;  but  the 
death  of  the  latter  within  a  month  after  landing  utterly  dis- 
heartened the  former.  Brookshaw's  effort  in  1767  was  more 
propitious.  All  alone  he  manfully  supported  himself  by  handi- 
craft in  apostolic  fashion,  and  staunchly  held  his  ground  for 
some  months  till  joined  by  Bennet.  Bennet  died  in  1772,  and 
only  one  missionary  was  left,  Brookshaw  having  been  trans- 
ferred to  Antigua.  Then  sore  trial  was  occasioned  by  a  terrific 
hurricane  on  October  10,  1780,  known  for  a  hundred  years  as 
"the  great  storm."  Scarcely  a  house  was  left  standing.  The 
mission  property  was  utterly  destroyed.     Several  thousand  per- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  65 

sons  perished.  Semi-famine  followed.  Masterless  slaves  took 
to  the  woods.  Outlaws  threatened  life  and  possessions.  When 
John  Montgomery,  the  father  of  the  poet,  arrived  in  1784,  he 
found  only  fourteen  communicants.  Though  his  able  minis- 
trations for  a  time  infused  new  hope,  they  were  cut  oflf  by  death 
in  1791,  after  a  brief  intermission  of  labor  caused  by  his  attempt 
to  inaugurate  a  mission  in  Tobago. 

The  incentive  to  this  undertaking,  in  1787,  had  come  from  a 
planter  named  Hamilton,  who  had  known  the  Brethren  in  Lon- 
don and  Barbados.  "Count  Dillon,  the  French  governor  at 
this  time,  had  learnt  to  value  the  missionary  labors  of  the 
Brethren  when  holding  a  similar  position  in  St.  Kitts,  and  at 
once  gave  full  approval  of  the  effort,  welcoming  Montgomery 
with  much  kindness.  In  the  upper  circle  of  society,  too,  a 
favorable  view  was  taken  of  the  projected  mission.  Meetings 
were  held,  and  the  negroes  joyously  welcomed  the  gospel- 
message.  Montgomery  returned  to  Barbados  with  a  report 
which  was  very  hopeful  for  good  results  for  a  missionary  effort 
in  Tobago.  But  men  were  so  scarce,  and  the  requirements  of 
the  rapidly  growing  mission  elsewhere  so  multiplied  that  it  was 
not  till  1790  that  the  first  missionary  could  be  sent  in  the  per- 
son of  Montgomery.  His  work  was  begun  with  great  vigor, 
but  was  sadly  hindered  by  a  formidable  outbreak  of  soldiers  and 
people  on  receipt  of  the  tidings  of  the  French  Revolution,  by 
a  disastrous  hurricane  a  month  or  two  later,  and  the  failing 
health  of  his  wife,  which  ended  in  her  happy  departure  before 
the  year  closed.  In  March  of  the  following  year  Montgomery 
had  to  return  to  Barbados,  with  his  health  completely  shattered, 
and  there  in  the  month  of  July  his  brief  missionary  career  was 
terminated  by  his  death.  For  eight  years  no  attempt  was  made 
to  renew  the  mission,  not  entirely  on  account  of  the  great  drain 
on  all  the  available  resources  of  the  church  in  other  fields  of 
labor,  but  partly  on  account  of  the  uncertain  political  circum- 
stances of  the  land." 

In  Jamaica,  the  gift  of  the  Carmel  estate  proved  a  Greek 
present.  It  represented  a  policy,  to  say  the  least,  as  erroneous 
as  the  former  attempt  to  colonize  in  St.  Croix.  This  was  still  the 
era  of  experiment  in  missions,  and  the  privilege  of  being  taught 
by  the  blunders  of  others  was  denied  the  Brethren.  Yet  the 
era  of  decline  which  followed  the  return  of  Caries  to  Ireland 
was  made  good  by  the  advance  during  Frederick  Schlegel's  all 
6 


66  A    HISTORY    OF 

too  brief  service  of  six  years,  terminated  by  his  death  in  1770. 
Next  came  a  period  of  prolonged  fruitlessness.  Discouraging 
relapses  into  paganism  occurred.  The  superstition  of  the  Afri- 
cans appeared  to  be  well-nigh  ineradicable.  Not  that  men  of 
zeal  and  ability  were  lacking.  Samuel  Church,  Nathaniel 
Brown,  Joseph  Jackson  and  Thomas  Ellis  were  gifted  and 
labored  indefatigably.  But  the  system  which  identified  them 
with  the  management  of  an  estate  worked  by  slave-labor  was 
a  dead  weight  about  their  necks.  Besides  the  malarial  influ- 
ences of  Carmel  compelled  too  frequent  changes  in  personnel. 
In  seventy  years  it  demanded  twenty-four  missionary  graves, 
and  twenty  additional  deaths  elsewhere  completed  the  fatal  lists. 
The  wonder  is,  that  men  like  Christian  Lister,  after  a  transfer 
from  the  totally  different  climate  of  Labrador,  could  hold  out 
for  nearly  fourteen  years  in  the  face  of  every  distress.  By  the 
year  1804  the  baptisms  in  Jamaica  numbered  only  938. 

At  the  time  of  Schumann's  death,  the  brimming  marsh-land 
of  Surinam  was  occupied  by  the  Brethren  at  four  points — Pil- 
gerhut  on  the  Berbice,  Ephraim  on  the  Corentyne,  Sharon  on  the 
Saramacca  and  Paramaribo,  the  capital.  The  last,  slow  in  as- 
suming its  proportions,  was  to  arrive  at  highest  importance, 
while  the  Indian  mission  dvv'indled  away. 

The  Bush  Negroes,  runaway  slaves  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
remote  swampy  forests  and  whose  liberty  was  conceded  by  gov- 
ernment in  1764  after  the  failure  of  a  resort  to  force,  regarded 
the  Indian  tribes  with  fixed  animosity.  When  the  blacks  of 
Copename  in  1761  made  a  raid  against  the  villages  on  the  Sara- 
macca, the  people  from  Sharon  scattered  in  flight.  Next  year 
the  Negroes  of  Berbice  rose  in  arms,  and  in  1763  caused  the 
flight  of  the  missionaries  and  their  converts  from  Pilgerhut. 
Schumann's  translations  and  other  linguistic  works  perished  in 
the  ashes  of  the  station.  The  same  fate  overtook  Ephraim. 
The  Indian  mission  threatened  to  wholly  disappear  in  the  flames 
of  the  servile  rebellion.  With  the  restoration  of  peace  in  1764 
Sharon  was  however  reoccupied,  and  Hope  arose  in  place  of 
Ephraim.  But  Sharon  was  again  abandoned  in  1779,  owing 
to  repeated  alarms  from  the  turbulence  of  the  Bush-Negroes, 
oft-recurring  fevers,  and  the  failure  of  the  cassava  plantations, 
the  chief  source  of  food.  Nor  did  the  pious  wishes  enshrined  in 
the  name  of  the  companion  station  long  enjoy  fruition,  although 
in  1783  its  membership  numbered  186.     The  nomadic  tendency 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  6/ 

of  the  Indians,  with  their  proneness  to  intoxication,  in  addition 
to  pestilence  and  war,  perpetually  interposed  obstacles,  though 
signal  instances  of  the  power  of  grace  were  not  lacking. 

Meantime  the  mission  amongst  the  black  population  became 
more  important.  Coincident  with  the  establishment  of  peace, 
the  colonial  authorities  asked  that  missionaries  be  sent  to  the 
camps  of  the  Bush-Negroes.  Rudolph  Stoll  and  Thomas  Jones, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  aged  Daehne,  penetrated  into  the  in- 
terior, where  the  atmosphere  is  that  of  "a  hothouse  and  vapor- 
bath  combined."  Early  in  1766  they  reached  Senthea  Creek, 
after  a  most  toilsome  and  dangerous  journey  by  boat.  Here  a 
chief  named  Abini,  vaguely  feeling  that  they  were  sent  by  a 
divine  power,  rendered  what  poor  aid  he  could.  Their  home 
was  a  wretched  hut.  Food  was  scanty.  The  deadly  cHmate 
established  its  claims.  In  a  few  weeks  Jones  succumbed  to  fever. 
Daehne  returned  to  his  Indians,  but  Stoll  faithfully  kept  his  soli- 
tary post.  Two  years  later  Abini,  his  protector,  fell  in  war  with 
a  neighboring  tribe.  His  son,  Arabi,  endeavored  to  maintain 
the  friendly  relations;  but  deep-seated  hostility  gleamed  forth, 
incited  by  his  grandmother,  a  bigoted  adherent  of  the  old  sup- 
erstitions. In  the  face  of  undisguised  hate,  Stoll  opened  a 
school  with  a  handful  of  children,  one  of  whom,  Grego,  in  adult 
life  became  a  very  serviceable  assistant  of  the  missionaries.  In 
1769  Christopher  Kersten  and  his  wife  came  from  Paramaribo 
to  second  Stoll's  eftorts.  Arabi  was  baptized  on  January  6,  1771, 
and  shot  the  alligator  worshiped  by  his  people.  Slowly  a  con- 
gregation was  gathered,  and  in  1773  a  settlement  was  formed  at 
Bambey,  some  miles  nearer  the  city,  with  again  a  removal  in 
1786.  kersten  was  called  away  to  become  superintendent  of  the 
entire  field,  and  when  Stoll  brought  his  bride  to  the  lonely 
village  in  the  bush,  she  died  from  fever  in  a  few  months.  He 
himself  soon  followed  her  to  the  grave,  having  spent  eleven 
years  of  heroic  effort  in  the  tangled  pestilential  forests.  His 
memory  is  yet  cherished  by  the  blacks  who  lovingly  revere 
"Brother  Rudolph."  Missionary  after  missionary  endeavored 
to  occupy  the  post;  but  health  invariably  gave  way.  No 
European  could  long  endure  life  in  the  tropical  swamps.  Arabi 
remained  faithful;  but  at  the  close  of  the  century  New  Bam- 
bey could  not  count  fifty  converts. 

in  Paramaribo  it  was  otherwise.     Christian  Cupido,  the  first 
convert,  was  won  in  1776.     Within  one  month  of  his  baptism 


68  A    HISTORY    OF 

seven  other  baptisms  followed.  A  church  was  built  two  years 
later.  Though  some  planters  were  bitterly  hostile,  the  governor 
and  other  people  of  influence  countenanced  the  undertaking. 
In  1785  the  government  offered  the  mission  a  piece  of  land 
conveniently  situated  for  visits  to  several  important  estates 
and  Sommelsdyk  was  estabhshed.  When  Kersten  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Samuel  Wagner,  in  1789,  the  Paramaribo  congrega- 
tion numbered  about  250  souls.  If  the  day  of  great  things  had 
not  yet  dawned,  foundations  had  been  successfully  laid,  and  the 
indications  of  a  hopeful  future  were  here.  Moreover  a  pledge 
for  the  stability  of  the  mission  was  given  in  1793  by  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Zendinggciiooischap  der  Brocdcrgemeciitc  in  the  congre- 
gation at  Zeist  in  Holland,  which  was  to  make  the  support  of 
the  Brethren's  missions  in  Dutch  colonies  its  special  object. 

Less  happy  were  the  fortunes  of  the  mission  in  the  East 
Indies.  Halle  regarded  with  disfavor  the  presence  of  mission- 
aries from  Herrnhut  in  close  proximity  to  its  own  heralds. 
Using  their  influence  at  Copenhagen,  the  Hallensian  authori- 
ties insisted  that  the  Brethren  must  occupy  the  Nicobar  Islands, 
as  originally  designed.  Correspondence  between  the  governing 
board  of  the  church  and  the  Danish  government,  with  visits 
to  the  Danish  capital,  occupied  several  years.  At  length,  in 
1768,  Denmark  estabhshed  a  mihtary  and  trading  post  on  the 
island  of  Nancawery,  and  six  Brethren  were  sent  thither.  Two 
died  soon"  after  their  arrival.  Next  year  more  colonists  fol- 
lowed. But  in  a  few  years  the  entire  colonial  project  came  to 
nothing  from  the  terrible  mortality.  Yet  the  four  Brethren 
manfully  remained,  without  any  regular  means  of  correspond- 
ence with  Tranquebar,  unable  to  have  satisfactory  intercourse 
with  the  natives  owing  to  the  barrier  of  the  language,  often  in 
great  straits  on  account  of  the  unproductiveness  of  the  soil,  and 
frequently  in  ill  health.  Nevertheless  nothing  else  than  per- 
manent occupation  of  the  post  was  contemplated.  Breaches  in 
the  ranks  were  filled  from  Tranquebar.  But  although  the  first 
convert,  Kutti,  was  baptized  on  January  6,  1774,  on  the  whole 
the  station  remained  a  fruitless  one,  and  the  drain  on  men 
and  means  was  excessive.  Tranquebar  also  proved  a  place 
most  costly  in  precious  lives.  The  relations  with  the  Hallensian 
missionaries  improved,  but  the  rewards  of  missionary  en- 
deavor were  scanty.  With  the  success  of  Schwarz  in  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  an  invitation  came  to  the  Brethren  from  the  Dan- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  69 

ish  Company  to  initiate  missionary  labors  at  Serampore  in  Ben- 
gal. The  call  was  welcomed,  and  John  Grasmann  was  sent 
thither  in  1777.  Seven  years  later,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  Mr. 
Livius  in  England,  James  La  Trobe,  a  cousin  of  Benjamin,  was 
dispatched  to  Patna. 

The  various  discouraging  features  of  the  mission  now  de- 
termined the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference  to  undertake  a 
thorough  investigation  of  its  condition  and  prospects.  Bishop 
John  Frederick  Reichel  was  charged  with  this  important  duty. 
With  him  voyaged  Christian  Lewis  Schumann  and  others  who 
were  to  remain  in  the  event  of  the  continuance  of  the  undertak- 
ing. For  five  months,  June  to  October,  1786,  Reichel 
thoroughly  looked  into  the  state  of  affairs  and  had  frequent  con- 
ferences with  the  missionaries,  the  two  Brethren  from  Bengal 
being  present.  It  was  decided  to  abandon  all  the  outposts. 
This  took  effect  for  Patna  at  once,  for  the  Nicobar  Islands  and 
Serampore  later,  1788-1791.  At  Tranquebar  changes  were 
made,  in  the  hope  of  a  more  successful  prosecution  of  the  work. 
La  Trobe  returned  with  Reichel,  and  their  stay  at  Capetown 
in  January  and  February,  1787,  led  up  to  the  renewal  of  the  mis- 
sion in  Cape  Colony,  abandoned  fifty  years  ago.  Finally  in 
.1795,  after  long  hesitation,  the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference  deter- 
mined upon  complete  withdrawal  from  the  East  Indie?.  Forty 
out  of  the  seventy  who  were  sent  thither  by  the  church  had 
found  their  graves  at  the  scene  of  their  unsuccessful  endeavors. 


70 


A    HISTORY    OF 


6/ 
CHy-VPTER   VII. 


THE   RENEWAL  OF  THE   MISSION    IN   CAPE   COLONY,    1/92. 

Schmidt's  attempt  to  evangelize  the  Hottentots  never  alto- 
gether passed  out  of  the  scope  of  the  church's  plans.  In  1748 
a  member  of  the  Herrnhaag  congregation  named  John  Martin 
Schwalber,  who  had  formerly  served  for  five  years  as  an  official 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  at  the  Cape,  volunteered  to 
go  in  his  place,  at  his  own  costs,  and  was  permitted.  He  ap- 
parently reached  Baviaanskloof  in  safety,  and  died  there  during 
an  epidemic  prior  to  1756.  The  little  congregation  held  together 
for  some  time,  but  after  the  death  of  Africo  and  Willem,  about 
1756,  the  rest  scattered,  and  the  wilderness  returned  where 
once  fields  and  gardens  bloomed. 

When  on  June  16,  1789,  in  connection  with  his  report  con- 
cerning the  East  Indian  mission  Bishop  Reichel  communicated 
to  the  synod  the  results  of  his  observations  in  Cape  Colony,  and 
held  out  hopes  of  the  timeliness  of  an  attempt  to  renew  the  mis- 
sion there,  keen  interest  v^-as  aroused.  Circumstances  were 
propitious.  Governor  Van  der  Grafif  was  understood  to  be 
favorably  disposed.  The  purposes  and  character  of  the  church 
were  better  known.  The  prejudices  of  former  days  had  been 
dissipated.  Ranzau  and  Rothe,  the  Provincial  Helpers  in  Hol- 
land, together  with  Reichel  were  therefore  instructed  to  open 
negotiations  with  the  Directors  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany to  secure  permission  for  the  resumption  of  missionary 
operations.  A  successful  issue  was  delayed  only  by  the  revolu- 
tionary movements  in  Holland. 

In  the  summer  of  1792  Henry  Marsveld  of  Gouda  in  Holland, 
Daniel  Schwinn  of  Erbach  in  the  Odenwald  and  John  Christian 
Kiihnel  of  Herrnhut  were  dispatched  to  Africa.  Trained  me- 
chanics, and  aged  respectively  47,  42  and  30  years — unmarried — 
they  were  men  admirably  adapted  for  pioneer  work,  qualified 
to  win  the  Hottentots  for  civilization  as  well  as  for  Christian 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  /I 

life.  Ordained  at  Hemihut,  they  left  the  Texel  in  the  Little 
Doz'c — "Z'Dityfjc" — on  July  ii  and  reached  Cape  Town  on 
November  21.  Cheered  by  the  manifestation  of  considerable 
sympathy,  though  their  undertaking  was  scouted  in  other  quar- 
ters, on  December  20  they  left  for  the  interior  in  a  twelve-ox 
wagon  in  company  with  "Baas"  ^Martin  Teunessen,  the  "inspec- 
tor" of  the  district  around  Baviaanskloof.  Here  the  govern- 
ment had  donated  as  the  site  for  the  new  mission  the  spot  hal- 
lowed by  the  memories  of  Schmidt's  in-gatherings.  The  place 
itself  was  first  visited  on  Christmas  Eve,  the  three  new-comers 
being  meanwhile  the  guests  of  the  "inspector,"  who  had  re- 
ceived instructions  to  protect  them  and  their  work  and  to  ren- 
der them  all  reasonable  assistance.  Remains  of  Schmidt's 
house,  traces  of  his  garden,  and  especially  a  large  pear-tree  be- 
neath whose  shade  services  were  now  temporarily  held,  served 
as  reminders  that  the  former  attempt  had  not  been  given  up 
for  lack  of  fruitfulness.  The  tenacious  hold  of  the  faith  which 
Schmidt  had  engrafted  was  also  disclosed  by  the  joy  of  one  of 
his  converts,  Magdalene,  an  old  woman  of  eighty,  who  now 
came  forward  with  Anna-Hke  rejoicings  at  the  answer  to  her 
prayers,  and  produced  her  Dutch  Bible  carefully  wrapped  in  a 
sheep-skin,  whilst  she  gave  proofs  that  its  passages  were  not 
wholly  unfamiliar  to  her. 

In  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  his  superiors,  Teunes- 
sen rendered  welcome  aid.  When  certain  of  the  natives  be- 
came suspicious  that  the  kindness  of  the  missionaries  was  to  be 
explained  on  the  ground  of  ulterior  designs,  possibly  a 
scheme  to  kidnap  them  for  slavery  in  Holland,  he  dispelled 
these  fears,  saying:  "Government  has  sent  these  men  to  in- 
struct you,  and  if  you  are  willing  to  learn,  to  teach  you  what 
is  good,  and  baptize  you.  Then  you  will  be  Christians  as  well 
as  the  farmers,  and  they  dare  not  hurt  you.  The  Governor 
loves  you,  and  has  therefore  sent  teachers  to  you.  charging  me 
to  bring  them  to  you.  If  they  were  not  good  men  he  would 
not  have  recommended  them  to  me ;  nor  would  I  have  brought 
them  to  you."  In  March  a  school  was  commenced  with  twenty- 
five  adults  and  children.  Practical  instruction  in  the  herding 
of  cattle,  agriculture  and  gardening  supplemented  lessons  from 
the  books. 

But  storm-clouds  gathered.  The  policy  introduced  by  Hol- 
land in  its  dealings  with  the  colony  had  been  wholly  unworthy 


72  A    HISTORY    OF 

of  an  enlightened  Protestant  state  possessed  of  commercial 
experience.  Partly  by  contracts  and  partly  by  force,  the  Hot- 
tentot natives  had  been  gradually  deprived  of  their  lands  and 
pushed  into  the  interior.  Many  had  been  enslaved.  The  Boers 
had  been  narrowed  down  in  agricultural  operations  by  gov- 
ernmental restriction  of  the  crops  which  they  were  permitted 
to  grow,  by  heavy  taxation  and  the  discouragement  of  manu- 
factures. All  this  was  engendering  an  ugly  spirit  amongst 
them.  On  the  one  hand  they  ached  for  independence,  and  abor- 
tive insurrections  broke  out ;  and  on  the  other  hand  the  natives 
were  made  to  feel  that  the  natural  kindliness  of  the  Dutch  heart 
was  departing.  A  group  of  colonists  professed  tenets  which 
included  a  determination  to  hold  as  slaves  all  Hottentots  or 
Bushmen  who  could  be  captured,  and  to  compel  all  natives  born 
on  an  estate  to  work  without  pay  until  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
Scanty  scruples  meanwhile  existed  against  defrauding  or  de- 
bauching them.  These  Boers  beheld  with  alarm  the  improve- 
ment which  was  noticeable  in  the  people  whom  the  Moravian 
missionaries  had  taken  in  charge.  Resisting  the  soHcitations 
of  drink,  these  Hottentots  began  to  insist  on  the  rights  of  intel- 
ligent manhood.  They  were  enjoying  school  privileges,  whilst 
the  colonists  had  none.  Their  labor  would  become  too  costly. 
Even  Teunessen  for  a  time  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  prejudiced 
opposition.  "The  I\loravians  must  withdraw  to  the  Bush-coun- 
try"— such  was  the  demand.  Some  possibly  cast  a  longing 
eye  on  the  improvements  at  Baviaanskloof.  Nor  could  the  colo- 
nial government  render  the  protection  which  it  might  have  fur- 
nished under  ordinary  circumstances,  for  it  was  beginning  to 
cope  with  open  rebellion,  the  echo  of  the  excitement  caused  in 
Holland  by  the  revolution  in  France. 

The  story  of  the  bell,  narrated  graphically  in  Schneider's  ac- 
count of  the  founding  of  the  mission,  furnishes  an  illustration 
of  the  shameless  opposition  now  experienced.  In  April,  1793, 
clever  Kuhnel  fashioned  a  rude  makeshift,  a  home-made  article 
that  could  be  designated  a  bell  only  by  a  stretch  of  courtesy. 
It  served,  indeed,  to  proclaim  the  hour  of  worship  by  giving 
out  a  sound  never  heard  before.  It  also  served  to  stimulate 
the  benefactions  of  friends  in  Cape  Town,  by  moving  them  to 
pity;  so  that  in  October  an  actual  bell  was  presented,  which 
had  previously  done  service  on  a  farm.  Great  rejoicing  greeted 
its  advent  at  Baviaanskloof.     So  shapely  a  thing  with  so  fine  a 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  73 

tone   was    a   complete    novelty   to    the    Hottentot   population. 
Their  joy  and  the  satisfaction  of  the  missionaries  culminated 
when  a  few  days  later  it  was  elevated  on  a  suitable  campanile 
of  timber,  where  it  could  take  pleasure  in  waking  the  echoes 
of  the  neighboring  hills.     But  alas !  the  harmless  proclaimer  of 
the  hours  of  reUgious  devotion  soon  became  the  intolerable  dis- 
turber of  the  peace !     The  clergyman  of  Stellenbosch  lodged  a 
complaint  with  the  government  on  the  ground  that  this  imper- 
tinent bell  annoyed  him  and  was  an  offense  to  his  conscience. 
Its  tones  broke  in  upon  his  peace.     Yet  he  lived  two  days'  jour- 
ney distant!     His  weighty  representations  moved  government 
to   require   Teunessen   to   place   an   injunction   upon   the   pes- 
tiferous bell.     So  the  instrument  which  had  been  judged  wholly 
harmless  when  it  was  employed  to  give  notice  of  the  hours  of 
labor  and  of  refreshment  and  rest,  as  was  customary  on  many 
of  the  farms,  dare  no  longer  sound;  for  its  invitation  to  wor- 
ship—that was  quite  another  thing.     The  justification  of  this  in- 
junction moreover  sheds  a  curious  light  upon  the  prevalent  con- 
ception of  Christian  comity.     The  Lutheran  Church  in  Cape 
Town  was  not  perm.itted  to  enjoy  the  use  of  a  bell;  still  less 
therefore  might  the  mission  in  Baviaanskloof.     So  the  poor  bell 
hung  its  silenced  head  in  shame  for  its  own  uselessness,  until 
an  official  named  Brand  visited  the  settlement  in  December. 
To  him  the  missionaries  made  earnest  representations  and  pic- 
tured the  necessity  of  a  bell  for  the  proper  conduct  of  their  work. 
He  perceived  the  reasonableness  of  the  plea  and  promised  help. 
Nay,  he  even  ventured  to  do  more  than  this.     Temporarily  the 
ringing  might  be  sanctioned.     On  his  return  to  the  capital  he 
laid  the  matter  in  ail  form  before  the  governor  and  before  a 
commissioner  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  who  happened 
to  be  there.     At  last  in  the  latter  part  of  December  a  document 
officially  signed  and  sealed  reached  Teunessen,  removing  the 
injunction  from  the  bell.     Yet  this  was  not  the  end  of  the  affair. 
Next  month  when  Marsveld  visited  the  city,  he  was  amazed  to 
receive  a  new  inhibition,  and  at  that  from  the  lips  of  the  official 
whose  friendly  representations  had  achieved  so  much.     Again 
the  injunction  was  justified  by  the  alleged  annoyance  given  by 
the  penetrating  tones  of  this  wonderful  bell,  so  disturbing  to 
the  folk  of  Stellenbosch,  two  days'  journey  away!     True,  it  was 
added  that  quite  too  many  complaints  had  been  heard  in  refer- 
ence to  the  work  of  the  Brethren.     All  the  representations  of 


74  A    HISTORY    OF 

the  missionary  were  to  no  purpos^.  The  poor  bell  remained 
silent  until  March  19,  1798,  when  English  rule  brought  about 
a  rescript  in  favor  of  the  patient  servant  of  the  native  congrega- 
tion. No  wonder  the  thankful  Hottentots  went  to  the  sea- 
shore, a  day  and  a  half  distant  by  wagon,  and  brought  thence 
three  loads  of  shell-fish,  that  lime  might  be  burnt,  to  build  a 
belfry  of  stone,  whence  the  victorious  bell  might  henceforth 
peal  forth  freely. 

Meanwhile  opposition  manifested  itself  in  ways  not  so  harm- 
less. When  on  September  30,  1794,  Schwinn  in  a  personal  in- 
terview with  the  governor  sought  permission  for  the  erection 
of  a  church,  the  rude  reply  was,  "Not  so  much  as  a  pig-sty  shall 
be  built.  Everything  must  remain  as  it  is."  Teunessen  actu- 
ally forbade  the  building  of  a  stall  for  goats !  Commissioners 
came  from  Cape  Town  and  ordered  the  Hottentots  to  remove 
their  herds  from  the  neighborhood.  Only  a  few  cattle  might 
be  retained  for  use  as  beef.  Henceforth  every  native  must  first 
obtain  written  permission  from  a  Boer,  prior  to  his  settling  at 
Baviaanskloof.  Then  a  paper  was  circulated  amongst  the 
Nationalists,  with  three  thousand  signatures.  Its  main  points 
were  the  expulsion  of  the  missionaries,  the  practical  enslave- 
ment of  the  Hottentots,  and  the  complete  enslavement  of  the 
Bushmen.  Next  it  was  reported  that  a  certain  semi-bandit 
named  Pisani  with  a  lawless  company  was  on  his  way  to  destroy 
the  mission.  These  fellov.-s  the  Nationalists  themselves,  how- 
ever, arrested  and  threw  into  the  citadel  at  Cape  Town.  At 
last  the  climax  was  reached  in  August,  1795,  when  the  British 
fleet,  sent  to  support  the  authority  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
took  possession  of  Cape  Colony  in  his  name. 

Marsveld  waited  upon  the  British  authorities,  Generals 
Clarke  and  Craig,  and  received  assurance  of  protection.  Let 
him  and  his  Brethren  continue  to  prosecute  their  benevolent 
work.  In  February,  1796,  the  destruction  of  the  mission  at  one 
blow  was  plotted  by  its  enemies.  But  due  notice  of  the  danger 
having  been  given  by  Teunessen,  the  malicious  scheme  came  to 
naught.  The  village  about  the  mission  now  grew  apace.  A 
church  was  built.  Five  hundred  inhabitants  centered  around  it. 
A  vineyard  of  two  thousand  vines  was  under  cultivation.  The 
herding  of  sheep  had  been  introduced.  A  grist  mill  had  been 
built.  A  cutlery  had  been  founded;  for  Kiihnel  had  been  a 
journeyman  in  the  establishment  at  Herrnhut  originated  by  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  75 

Neissers.  And  as  years  passed  the  prejudices  of  the  more 
thoughtful  of  the  Boers  gave  way.  They  discovered  that 
Baviaanskloof  contributed  to  their  wants,  and  that  a  reliable, 
conscientious  and  intelligent  Moravian  convert,  even  if  paid 
reasonable  wages,  was  a  more  profitable  employe  than  a 
drunken,  pilfering,  ignorant  savage,  though  practically  an  un- 
paid slave. 

In  1797  John  Philip  Kohrhammer  of  Gnadau  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  mission,  and  with  his  wife  arrived  next 
spring.  The  gradual  increase  in  the  number  of  inhabitants, 
more  than  1,200  according  to  a  census  taken  in  January,  1799, 
required  the  erection  of  a  larger  church.  The  missionaries 
planned  according  to  their  faith,  and  on  January  9,  1800,  a 
building  accommodating  fifteen  hundred  persons  was  conse- 
crated— an  object  of  interest  to  settlers  far  and  wide  and  of 
astonishment  to  the  savages.  Aged  Magdalena  survived  to  see 
this  pledge  of  greater  things ;  for  she  fell  asleep  just  one  week 
prior  to  the  dedication,  "having  probably  attained  the  age  of 
nearly  one  hundred  years." 

New  missionaries  were  now  sent,  and  Christian  Louis  Rose, 
formerly  of  Labrador,  in  turn  became  superintendent.  In  ex- 
ternals the  converts  were  prospering  from  the  produce  of  their 
fields  and  orchards  and  gardens  and  the  increase  of  their  herds. 
The  disposition  of  the  neighboring  proprietors,  and  especially 
of  Teunessen,  had  become  friendly.  The  change  of  the  name 
of  the  station  from  Baviaanskloof  to  Gcnadcndal  (Vale  of  Grace), 
being  made  as  it  was  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Dutch  governor 
Jansen  on  the  restoration  of  the  colony  to  Holland  after  the 
Peace  of  Amiens,  testified  that  the  value  of  missionary  effort 
had  won  recognition. 


^6  A    HISTORY    OF 


.>^^' 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    INDIAN    MISSION    AT    THE    CLOSE    OF    THE    EIGHTEENTH    AND 

DURING   THE    OPENING   YEARS    OF   THE 

NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

Fairfield  in  Ontario  soon  became  a  prosperous  home  for  the 
wanderers,  and  the  missionaries  won  an  excellent  reputation 
amongst  the  settlers.  To  them  Michael  Jung  preached  fort- 
nightly at  a  place  seven  miles  distant,  and  other  colonists  forty 
miles  away  also  desired  the  services  of  the  Brethren.  By  the 
year  1798  quite  a  tract  was  under  cultivation,  wheat  as  well  as 
Indian  corn  being  grown.  The  industry  of  the  converts,  it  was 
admitted,  lowered  the  cost  of  some  of  the  necessaries  of  life  at 
Detroit.  The  great  Northwestern  Fur  Company  each  year  as 
a  rule  purchased  about  2,000  bushels  of  corn  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  cattle  at  Fairfield.  The  annual  output  of  maple  sugar 
was  estimated  at  5,000  pounds.  The  Christian  Indians  supplied 
canoes  for  all  the  neighboring  settlements.  Their  manufacture 
of  baskets  and  mats,  etc.,  was  in  great  demand,  and  found  a 
ready  sale.  Yet  the  resumption  of  communications  with  Beth- 
lehem, and  the  news  of  the  reservation  by  Congress  of  the  lands 
along  the  Tuscarawas  created  a  feeling  of  special  satisfaction. 
The  hearts  of  many  were  at  home  across  the  border.  In  spite 
of  the  prosperity  that  blessed  them  on  the  Thames,  there  were 
those  who  were  ready  to  accompany  the  venerable  missionary, 
Zeisberger,  when  he  announced  that  the  time  had  come  for  a 
re-occupation  of  their  former  fields  in  Ohio.  This  announce- 
ment could  not  be  made  until  1797,  for  until  that  year  the  un- 
settled state  of  the  Northwest  had  prevented  the  surveying  of 
the  land.  This  having  been  effected  by  General  Putnam,  the 
Surveyor  General  of  the  United  States,  in  conjunction  with 
John  Heckewelder  and  William  Henry,  as  representatives  of 
the  church,  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  1798,  John  Heckewelder 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  yj 

and  William  Edwards  left  Fairfield  with  live  Indian  brethren  to 
make  the  needful  preparations  for  the  reception  of  the  return- 
ing colony.  In  August  Zeisberger  and  his  wife,  with  Benjamin 
Mortimer,  who  had  recently  entered  the  service  of  the  mission, 
once  more  sought  the  scenes  along  the  Tuscarawas,  and 
brought  with  them  seven  Indian  families,  thirty-three  souls,  to 
form  the  nucleus  of  the  resuscitated  mission.  The  new  village 
was  established  about  half  an  hour's  walk  from  the  site  of 
Schonbrunn,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  farther  down 
the  stream.  It  received  the  name  of  Goshen.  By  the  end  of 
the  year  1799  it  numbered  fifty  Indian  inhabitants,  forty-six  of 
whom  had  been  baptized. 

It  was  evident  that  not  all  the  land  granted  on  the  Tusca- 
rawas could  be  occupied  by  the  Christian  Indians  in  person. 
Hence  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  as  their  trustee, 
in  1796  invited  members  of  the  church  to  remove  to  Ohio  and 
occupy  lands  on  the  Gnadenhutten  and  Salem  tracts,  whose  ren- 
tal was  to  be  used  exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  the  converts. 

In  the  year  1782,  when  the  converts  on  the  Tuscarawas  had 
been  taken  captive  to  the  Sandusky,  some  of  their  number  had 
escaped  westwards  to  the  White  River,  a  tributary  of  the 
Wabash.  Here  a  portion  of  the  Delaware  and  Nanticoke  tribes 
now  had  their  home.  In  1799  William  Henry  Gelelemend  (Kil- 
buck)  sent  a  message  from  Goshen  to  this  portion  of  his  people 
through  a  chief  named  Hakinkpomagu,  who  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Tuscarawas  in  May,  announcing  the  return  of  himself  and  his 
Christian  companions  to  their  old  homes,  and  inviting  the  Dela- 
wares  of  the  White  River  to  come  frequently  to  Goshen  and 
receive  the  gospel.  This  established  a  connection  between 
them  and  the  missionaries,  and  in  April,  1800,  a  messenger  ar- 
rived from  the  council  of  the  Delawares  at  Woapikamikunk^ 
as  their  town  was  called,  with  an  invitation  to  send  teachers 
thither.  In  response  John  Peter  Kluge,  formerly  a  missionary 
in  Surinam,  and  Abraham  Luckenbach,  a  teacher  at  Nazareth 
Hall,  received  the  call,  and  proceeding  from  Bethlehem  in  Octo- 
ber, arrived  at  Goshen  on  November  18.  The  project  met  the 
entire  approval  of  Zeisberger.  During  their  four  months'  stay 
in  order  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  language  under  his 
direction,  two  Indian  Brethren,  Charles  Henry  and  Jacob  Pem- 
aholend,  went  in  advance  to  announce  their  coming  to  Chief 
Packanghill.    Land  was  promised  at  Woapikamikunk,  the  assur- 


78  A    HISTORY    OF 

ance  was  given  that  no  rum-seller  or  drunken  person  should  be 
allowed  to  annoy  them,  and  that  they  should  labor  unhindered. 

Accordingly  on  February  24,  1801,  the  missionaries,  accom- 
panied by  Joshua,  a  native  helper,  as  interpreter  and  nine  other 
persons,  left  for  the  Wabash  in  canoes,  via  the  Muskingum,  the 
Ohio  and  the  Miami.  On  their  arrival  many  privations  were 
at  first  endured  owing  to  scantiness  of  provisions,  and  fevers 
prostrated  them.  The  house  of  the  missionaries  was  on  an  ele- 
vated spot  between  nine  populous  Indian  towns.  In  March, 
1802,  two  Indian  women  were  baptized  as  the  first  converts,  and 
the  moving  thither  of  Christian  Indians  from  the  former  settle- 
ments caused  a  little  village  of  ten  houses  to  spring  up  around 
the  church.  Other  baptisms  followed,  so  that  by  the  close  of 
the  year  the  congregation  counted  twenty-three  souls. 

But  this  bright  outlook  darkened  after  the  death  of  the 
chief  who  had  been  their  friend  and  protector,  and  after  the 
deposition  of  his  similarly  disposed  successor,  the  missionaries 
had  to  encounter  all  the  opposition  and  all  the  machinations  pf 
rum-sellers  and  other  foes  of  the  gospel,  who  with  the  medicine- 
men stirred  up  the  latent  hostiUty  of  the  heathen.  During  the 
year  1805  they  became  aware  that  their  lives  were  in  actual 
danger.  A  certain  Shawnese  stranger  who  had  ingratiated  him- 
self amongst  the  tribe,  claimed  that  he  could  detect  the  arts  of 
those  who  practiced  witchcraft  and  poisoning ;  hidden  mysteries 
were  open  to  him.  A  council  was  called  before  which  those 
whom  he  accused  should  be  compelled  by  torture  to  make  con- 
fession, recalcitrants  to  receive  the  blows  of  war-hatchets  and 
then  be  burnt.  The  first  to  be  accused  before  the  hellish  assem- 
bly was  old  chief  Tettepachsit.  He  had  nothing  to  acknowledge. 
So  the  inquisitors  fastened  him  by  cords  to  two  posts  and  began 
to  roast  him  at  a  slow  fire.  Agony  forced  from  his  blistering 
lips  a  He  of  despair — that  he  kept  poison  in  the  house  of 
Joshua,  the  missionaries'  interpreter.  On  March  13,  1806, 
seven  painted  Indians  dragged  Joshua  from  the  mission  by  main 
force.  The  converts  had  fled ;  some  were  compelled  to  abet  the 
malicious  cruelty.  When  confronted  with  the  prisoner,  Tette- 
pachsit admitted  that  he  had  accused  him  only  to  pacify  his  tor- 
turers, and  declared  that  Joshua  was  innocent.  The  Shawnese 
asserted  that  although  Joshua  had  no  poison,  he  had  a  famihar 
spirit  by  whose  means  he  destroyed  other  Indians.  On  the 
evening  of  the  i6th  word  reached  the  missionaries,  that  an  aged 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  79 

convert  named  Caritas  had  been  burnt.  Next  day  a  howling 
mob,  with  blackened  faces  dragged  old  Tettepachsit  to  the  mis- 
sion, lit  a  huge  fire,  and  wounding  him  on  the  head  with  a  hat- 
chet, cast  him  alive  into  the  flames,  the  while  they  diverted  them- 
selves with  the  convulsions  and  cries  of  the  miserable  victim. 
The  fiames  of  his  pyre  kindled  the  grass  and  brush  nearby  and 
filled  the  mission  with  the  smoke.  Around  the  missionaries  the 
frenzied  furies  danced.  Several  hundred  miles  from  friends, 
and  agonized  by  the  probable  fate  of  Joshua,  they  expected  the 
worst.  Then  the  murderers  burst  into  their  dwelling  and  de- 
manded bread  and  tobacco.  Giving  these,  they  interceded  for 
Joshua,  but  to  no  effect.  That  same  day  the  martyr,  enduring 
torture  by  the  aid  of  prayer,  perished  in  the  flames.  For  a  time 
Kluge  and  his  wife  and  Luckenbach  maintained  their  post  amid 
days  and  nights  of  terror.  At  last  it  was  made  clear  to  them 
that  duty  no  longer  demanded  a  useless  risk.  With  great  diffi- 
culty they  made  their  escape,  and  after  many  hardships  found 
refuge  in  the  settlements  on  the  Tuscarawas.  Perforce  the 
western  mission  was  abandoned. 

Meantime  two  of  the  veterans  of  the  Indian  Mission  entered 
into  their  rest,  Gottlob  Senseman  at  Fairfield  on  January  4, 
1800,  and  William  Edwards  at  Goshen  on  October  8,  1801.  The 
place  of  Senseman  was  filled  by  Christian  Frederick  Denke  of 
Nazareth,  who  now  came  to  assist  Michael  Jung  and  Sebastian 
Oppelt.  Soon  their  united  endeavors  reached  out  towards  an 
extension  of  the  mission.  Being  joined  in  1801  by  John  Schnall, 
it  was  possible  to  commence  activity  amongst  the  Chippeway 
villages  on  the  Jongquahamik. 

In  the  autumn  of  1803  Bishop  Loskiel  paid  an  official  visit  to 
Goshen,  and  a  renewal  of  the  mission  at  New  Salem  was  re- 
solved upon.  Accordingly  Oppelt  and  John  Benjamin  Haven 
proceeded  to  the  Petquotting  early  in  1804.  But  a  sad  reverse 
was  again  experienced.  Drunkenness  amongst  the  Indians  was 
industriously  promoted  by  traders  and  by  unscrupulous  white 
settlers,  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  them  when  intoxicated. 
The  damaging  consequences  of  this  solicitation,  successfully 
pursued  especially  when  the  people  were  scattered  through  the 
maple  forests  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  were  very  far- 
reaching.  The  carousals  begat  a  spirit  of  heathenish  repudia- 
tion of  all  restraint.  Inner  corruption  began  to  work  what  ex- 
ternal persecution  alone  could  never  have  effected. 


8o  A    HISTORY    OF 

This  was  the  case  both  at  Goshen  and  the  Chippeway  mis- 
sion. The  latter  proved  a  failure.  All  these  distressing  features 
became  a  source  of  deep  grief  to  the  aged  Zeisberger.  His  end 
was  fast  approaching.  At  the  age  of  eighty-seven,  and  after  a 
most  remarkable  career  of  sixty-two  years  of  missionary  ser- 
vice, he  was  called  to  rest  and  reward  on  November  17,  1808. 
During  these  years  of  toil  he  had  itinerated  amongst  his 
"brown  hearts"  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan  and  Canada.  Mohicans,  Wam- 
panoags,  Nanticokes,  Shawnese,  Chippeways,  Ottawas,  Wyan- 
dots,  Unamis,  Unalachtgos,  Muncies,  Onondagas,  Cayugas  and 
Senecas  had  been  the  recipients  of  his  message.  He  was  fluent 
in  the  Delaware,  Mohawk  and  Onondaga  tongues,  and  was 
familiar  with  many  other  Indian  dialects.  The  translation  of 
the  Bible  and  of  the  Moravian  Hymn-book  and  Liturgy  into  the 
Delaware,  the  compilation  of  a  German-Delaware  lexicon,  and 
the  composition  of  Onondaga  and  Delaware  grammars  formed 
only  a  part  of  his  literary  labors.  He  had  led  hundreds  of  sav- 
ages to  live  a  consistent  Christian  life.  By  his  counsels  the 
Delawares  had  been  restrained  from  yielding  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  Indians  in  British  pay,  when  the  fate  of  the  Colonies 
was  uncertain.  Sad  it  is,  that  his  mighty  energy,  signal  ability 
and  unquenchable  devotion  were  so  largely  neutrahzed  by  the 
folly,  the  selfishness  and  the  sin  of  white  men. 

The  War  of  1812  broke  in  upon  the  charming  pastoral  life  at 
Fairfield  in  Canada,  and  caused  the  cessation  of  the  work  on 
the  Sandusky.  When  Detroit  was  occupied  by  the  American 
army  under  General  Harrison,  it  was  perceived  that  Fairfield 
would  soon  be  untenable.  But  whilst  arrangements  were  being 
made  to  abandon  the  place,  the  church  was  transformed  into  a 
British  hospital,  in  which  seventy  wounded  were  at  once  re- 
ceived. On  October  3,  1813,  General  Proctor  announced  his 
intention  to  fortify  the  place.  The  Indian  congregation  had 
meanwhile  taken  to  the  woods.  On  the  5th  the  Battle  of  the 
Thames  was  fought  about  two  miles  away.  It  was  now 
charged,  though  the  proofs  did  not  accompany  the  charge,  that 
some  of  the  Fairfield  Indians  had  been  implicated  in  a  massacre 
on  the  Raisin,  and  the  victorious  American  general,  mistaking 
the  character  of  the  place,  gave  the  mission  to  pillage  and  the 
flames.  Not  a  house  was  left  standing.  Michael  Jung,  old  and 
infirm,  accompanied  by  Schnall,  and  their  famiHes,  toiled  back 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  8 1 

to  Bethlehem  heart-broken,  and  Denke,  the  third  missionary, 
wandered  with  the  scattered  converts  in  the  woods,  putting  up 
temporary  homes  now  here,  now  there.  Attacked  and  plun- 
dered by  Kickapoo  and  Shawnese  bands,  he  was  cut  off  from 
communications  with  his  brethren  for  a  couple  of  years.  Not 
till  the  close  of  the  war  did  the  converts  dare  to  return  with  him 
to  Fairfield.  In  1815  it  was  rebuilt  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
Thames,  and  soon  numbered  about  thirty  houses,  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  Christian  and  forty-seven  heathen  inhab- 
itants. 

Meantime  Goshen  had  seen  its  best  days.  Steadily  the  nat- 
ural increase  of  the  white  population  and  the  enlargement  of 
the  land  under  cultivation,  with  the  ensuing  competition  in  prim- 
itive industries,  rendered  the  conditions  of  life  more  and  more 
unfavorable  for  the  Indians.  Therefore  New  Fairfield  became 
the  Christian  Indians'  Mecca. 

The  original  intention  of  the  settlement  of  the  Brethren  in 
Georgia  had  never  passed  wholly  out  of  mind.  Missions 
amongst  the  Cherokees,  Catawbas,  Chickasaws  and  Creeks  had 
been  repeatedly  planned.  John  Hagen's  visit  to  the  Cherokees 
in  1740  and  Ettwein's  negotiations  with  their  chiefs  at  Betha- 
bara  in  the  sixties  failed  of  permanent  results  chiefly  because 
of  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country.  In  1783  Martin  Schneider 
had  visited  Cherokee  towns  on  the  Tennessee  River,  but  strife 
between  the  colonists  and  the  Indians  had  once  more  inter- 
vened. In  1799  and  1800  journeys  of  exploration  were  under- 
taken with  encouraging  results  by  Abraham  Steiner  and  Fred- 
erick Christian  von  Schweinitz,  of  Salem.  Through  the  kind 
offices  of  Captain  Butler,  of  the  U.  S.  army,  they  were  enabled 
to  arrange  preliminaries  for  a  mission  at  Tellico  Block-house 
on  September  23,  1800.  at  a  great  council  of  from  three  to  four 
thousand  Indians.  In  April  of  the  following  year  Steiner  and 
Gottlieb  Byhan  set  out  to  found  the  mission.  The  spot  they 
selected  they  named  Spring-place  (now  the  county-seat  of  Mur- 
ray County,  Georgia).  At  first  the  intricacies  of  the  Cherokee 
language  and  the  lack  of  an  interpreter  presented  great  diffi- 
culties ;  but  slowly  a  Christian  congregation  was  successfully 
gathered  and  the  life  of  the  people  as  a  whole  was  savingly  in- 
fluenced. 

Encouraged  by  these  results  in  1807  an  extension  into  the 
country  of  the  Creeks  was  attempted.     Karsten  Petersen  and 

7 


Si  A    HISTORY    OF 

John  Christian  Burghardt  set  out  from  Salem  for  Flint  River, 
near  Milledgeville.  John  F.  Holland  joined  them  as  an  assist- 
ant in  1810.  But  five  years  afterwards  this  post  was  given  up. 
In  the  Cherokee  mission  several  changes  had  taken  place. 
Steiner  had  returned,  and  Jacob  Wohlfarth,  his  successor,  had 
died  in  1807.  John  Gambold  had  gone  out  in  1805.  A  school 
had  been  early  established  at  Springplace,  and  the  mission  was 
solidly  advancing.  With  regard  to  the  Christian  Cherokees  it 
could  be  reported:  "The  men  are  altogether  of  the  first  re- 
spectability in  the  nation,  and  as  such,  during  the  late  embassy 
to  Washington,  have  done  honor  not  only  to  the  Gospel  but  to 
the  capacity  and  good  sense  of  the  aborigines."  Disinterested 
testimony  was  further  borne  by  the  Abbe  de  Serra,  in  his  ac- 
count of  his  tour  in  the  United  States,  as  follows :  "Judge  of 
my  surprise,  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  to  find  a  botanic 
garden,  not  indeed  like  that  at  Paris,  or  yours  at  Kew;  but  a 
botanic  garden,  containing  many  exotic  and  medicinal  plants, 
the  professor,  Mrs.  Gambold,  describing  them  by  their  Linnean 
names.  Your  missionaries  here  taught  me  more  of  the  nature 
of  the  manner  of  promulgating  civilization  and  religion  in  the 
early  ages  by  the  missionaries  from  Rome,  than  all  the  pon- 
derous volumes  which  I  have  read  on  the  subject.  I  there  saw 
the  sons  of  a  Cherokee  Regulus  learning  their  lesson,  and  read- 
ing their  New  Testament  in  the  morning,  and  drawing  and 
painting  in  the  afternoon,  though,  to  be  sure,  in  a  very  Cherokee 
style ;  and  assisting  Mrs.  Gambold  in  her  household  work  or  Mr. 
Gambold  in  planting  corn.  Precisely  so  in  the  forests  of  Ger- 
many or  France,  a  Clovis  or  a  Bertha  laid  aside  their  crowns, 
and  studied  in  the  hut  of  a  St.  Martin  or  another  missionary." 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  83 


CHAPTER  IX.      f '    ■ 


THE    FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    FROM    THEIR    JUBILEE    TO    THE    SYNOD 

OF     1818. 

An  era  of  general  war  is  never  favorable  to  missionary  opera- 
tions. Now  the  blockade  of  continental  ports  by  British  naval 
squadrons,  exchange  of  cannon  shots  with  privateers,  and  in 
several  cases  actual  capture,  had  to  be  taken  into  account  when 
men  were  sent  forth.  All  ordinary  means  of  intercourse  with 
distant  colonies  sometimes  failed.  Colonies  exchanged  mas- 
ters, and  therewith  the  legal  status  of  the  church  was  altered  and 
new  requirements  had  to  be  complied  with.  Financial  losses 
were  frequent. 

In  Greenland  the  missionaries  received  reminders  of  the  rigor 
of  the  region.  The  age  of  adventure  had  not  passed.  During 
the  intensely  cold  weather  of  three  months  of  the  year  1793 
through  lack  of  even  their  usual  unsatisfactory  source  of  fuel, 
drift-wood  and  scrubby  brush,  the  missionaries  were  reduced  to 
the  train-oil  lamps  of  the  natives  as  a  source  of  heat.  On  June 
10,  1794,  two  missionaries  left  New  Herrnhut  for  a  neighboring 
island,  where  they  hoped  to  procure  wood  but  were  shut  in  by 
the  ice.  For  almost  one  month  they  found  it  impossible  to  make 
their  way  home,  nor  could  provisions  be  brought  to  them.  After 
encountering  many  dangers  and  supporting  life  by  catching  fish, 
they  at  last  reached  homie  on  July  8.  In  179S  Jacob  Beck  and 
his  wife  after  a  long  and  stormy  voyage  from  Copenhagen,  had 
a  narrow  escape  from  the  ice  whilst  on  the  way  from  Friederich- 
shaab  at  Lichtenau.  John  George  Grillich  left  Julianenhaab  for 
Copenhagen  on  October  4,  1798.  When  only  fairly  out  to  sea, 
the  ship  had  to  put  back  on  account  of  the  ice.  Two  weeks  later 
another  attempt  was  made  to  set  sail;  but  after  five  weeks  of 
hopeless  tacking  hither  and  thither,  was  again  driven  back  by 
the  ice,  this  time  in  a  damaged  condition.     In  February,  1799, 


84  A    HISTORY    OF 

another  attempt  was  made  to  put  to  sea,  but  from  the  i8th  to  the 
25th  the  ice  completely  shut  in  the  ship,  after  she  had  barely- 
missed  shipwreck  on  a  sunken  reef.  Now  the  captain  gave  orders 
for  her  abandonment.  A  weary  march  over  the  ice  followed.  Two 
nights  were  spent  without  shelter,  and  water  was  to  be  had  only 
by  melting  snow.  Scarcely  was  the  desolate  shore  of  Green- 
land reached,  when  a  terrific  storm  arose.  Not  until  October 
29,  and  after  many  adventures  did  Grillich  reach  Copenhagen. 
In  1804  and  1805  these  experiences  were  practically  repeated 
by  Christian  David  Rudolph  and  his  wife. 

The  conflict  between  Denmark  and  Britain,  until  the  block- 
ade was  relieved  in  181 1,  meant  peculiar  distress.  In  1808  the 
British  government,  indeed,  in  a  spirit  of  true  humanity  fitted 
out  two  ships  for  Greenland.  But  the  larger  of  these  was  lost 
in  the  ice,  and  was  the  one  destined  for  the  portion  of  the  coun- 
try where  the  Moravian  stations  were  situated.  Flour  became 
very  scarce.  Tobacco,  the  common  medium  of  exchange,  and 
powder  and  shot  were  quite  exhausted.  In  May,  181 1,  Henry 
Menzel  wrote :  "No  ships  arrived  in  Greenland  last  year.  We 
have  therefore  not  received  any  provisions  from  Europe,  nor 
does  it  appear  that  we  should  receive  any  this  year ;  and  if  not, 
there  is  httle  prospect  for  us  left,  but  that  we  must  die  of  famine 
and  distress  of  mind ;  for  no  European  can  subsist  on  what  the 
Greenlanders  eat,  without  bread.  The  consequences  soon  ap- 
pear in  a  dysentery  which  carries  the  patient  oflf  in  a  short 
tim.e.  . .  .For  these  three  years  past  we  have  not  received  any 
seeds,  and  this  year  we  can  sow  nothing  in  our  gardens."  The 
very  clothing  of  the  missionaries  began  to  give  out.  But  at 
last,  on  August  16,  1812,  to  their  intense  relief  the  Danish  ship 
Freden  arrived  with  goods  of  all  kinds  sufificient  to  meet  all  needs 
for  two  years.  It  had  been  sent  from  London  by  the  Society 
for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  a  license  having  been  pro- 
cured which  permitted  a  Danish  vessel  to  proceed  from  Copen- 
hagen via  Leith  for  the  express  purpose  of  relieving  the  mission. 

John  Conrad  Ivleinschmidt  who  had  now  completed  nineteen 
years  of  service  in  Greenland,  and  had  recently  lost  his  wife, 
took  advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  return  to  Europe  with  his 
children  and  the  widowed  sister  Walder.  They  set  sail  on 
September  2.  On  the  29th  the  Freden  \vrs  struck  by  lightning 
during  a  tremendous  sjtorm.  The  bolt  killed  one  of  the  sailors 
and  stunned  another.     For  three  days  and  two  nights  the  ship 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  85 

drove  helplessly  before  the  wind.  For  a  week  the  whole  com- 
pany were  put  on  a  short  allowance  of  water.  Leith  was  at  last 
reached  on  November  lo.  In  two  weeks  Kleinschmidt's  young- 
est child  died  from  the  hardships  experienced.  Neverthelev^s 
after  his  furlough  this  hero  was  ready  to  go  back  to  Greenland. 

John  Godfrey  Gorke,  detained  for  a  while  in  Europe  by  the 
war,  in  March,  1813,  left  Copenhagen  with  his  family  and  two 
other  missionaries  to  return  to  his  former  sphere  of  labor.  The 
Danish  vessel  in  which  they  sailed,  the  Hvalfisken,  had  been  duly 
licensed  by  the  British  to  carry  provisions  to  the  dreary  land 
of  bergs.  With  the  messengers  to  Greenland  there  voyaged 
also  a  party  of  missionaries  destined  for  the  West  Indies  via 
England.  In  mid-channel  between  Denmark  and  Norway  Cap- 
tain Cathcart  of  the  Alexandria  frigate  brought  the  Danish  ves- 
sel to,  and  pronounced  the  license  invalid.  Not  till  April  5 
were  they  permitted  to  weigh  anchor  for  Leith.  Five  weary 
weeks  were  required  for  the  passage  from  the  Scotch  port  to 
Greenland.  Then  their  Captain,  Lindber,  contrary  to  agree- 
ment, instead  of  landing  them  at  Lichtenfels  or  New  Herrn- 
hut,  where  there  was  every  facility  for  unloading,  carried  them 
to  Godhaven  on  Disco  Bay.  Thence  they  had  to  coast  back 
about  600  miles  to  New  Herrnhut,  from  which  station  Klein- 
schmidt  and  his  wife  had  yet  another  500  miles  in  an  umiak  be- 
fore making  Lichtenau.  Twice  during  the  four  months  of 
voyaging  along  the  rocky  and  dangerous  coast,  did  the  dehcate 
Europan  woman  faint  from  fatigue. 

In  1817  John  Frederick  Kranich,  returning  for  a  visit  at  home 
after  twelve  years  of  work,  was  lost  at  sea,  the  ship  foundering 
with  all  on  board. 

Such  were  some  of  the  episodes  which  gave  variety  to  the 
often  monotonous  round  of  missionary  toil  in  Greenland.  But 
it  was  undertaken  none  the  less  willingly,  nor  did  it  go  without 
reward.  The  population  in  the  districts  about  the  older  sta- 
tions had  become  nominally  Christian.  Lichtenau  alone  af- 
forded opportunity  for  contact  with  utterly  pagan  barbarians. 
Here  baptisms  repeatedly  occurred.  j\Ieantime  Jasper  Broder- 
sen  besides  translating  portions  of  the  Scriptures  comenced  to 
render  into  the  Eskimo  the  liturgies  of  the  church,  which  were 
preliminarily  printed  at  New  Herrnhut.  Henry  Menzel  trans- 
lated a  short  compendium  of  the  Bible  for  children.  This 
the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel  undertook  to 


86  A    HISTORY   OF 

print.  Kleinschmidt  was  commissioned  to  prepare  a  version 
of  the  New  Testament,  with  the  publication  of  which  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  made  itself  chargeable. 

Until  the  turn  of  the  century  Labrador  sorely  tested  faith 
and  patience.  The  total  number  of  Eskimos  who  had  made 
their  homes  at  the  three  stations  was  only  228.  Occasionally 
the  heathen  were  hostile.  Sometimes  suppHes  almost  failed. 
But  with  the  nev/  century  there  came  a  reward  to  the  fidelity  of 
Benjamin  Kohlmeister  and  his  associates.  The  awakening  be- 
gan at  Hopedale  in  1804.  Its  nature  marked  its  origin  as  from 
above.  The  conversion  of  two  wild  young  fellows,  Siksigak  and 
Kapik,  the  latter  as  notorious  as  was  Tuglavina  formerly,  made 
a  deep  impression  on  their  countrymen.  They  had  gone  from 
Nain  to  Hopedale  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  causing 
trouble,  but  came  back  changed  men,  exhorting  their  country- 
men to  repent  and  turn  to  Christ.  The  revival  necessitated  the 
building  of  a  new  church.  By  1818  six  hundred  people  now 
made  the  mission  stations  their  homes.  As  in  the  case  of 
Greenland,  Labrador  also  enjoyed  the  assistance  of  the  Society 
for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  for  the  creation  of  an  Eskimo  literature. 

Success  encouraged  a  desire  to  widen  the  work.  But  al- 
though Kohlmeister  explored  the  coast  as  far  as  Cape  Chudleigh 
and  the  Ungava  country,  plans  were  strangely  thwarted.  On 
the  one  hand  the  force  of  missionaries  was  diminished  by  a  pe- 
culiar accident.  On  the  other  hand  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
interposed  objections.  The  former  hindrance  transpired  as  fol- 
lows. As  usual  the  missionary  ship  proceeded  to  Labrador  in  the 
sum.mer  of  1816.  For  more  than  a  month  after  drift  ice  was 
reached,  it  could  not  make  port.  The  floes  extended  two  hun- 
dred miles  out  from  land.  But  at  length  Okak  was  reached  on 
August  29.  Supplies  were  landed.  Then  the  Jemima  for  three 
weeks  lay  a  helpless  prisoner  of  the  Frost  King.  By  dint  of 
skillful  efforts  Nain  was  made  on  September  22.  Here  John 
George  Kmoch,  John  Korner  and  Thomas  Christensen,  to- 
gether with  the  wife  of  the  first,  boarded  the  vessel  to  proceed 
to  Hopedale.  But  instead  they  made  port  in  the  Thames  on 
October  28.  For  on  the  very  day  of  sailing  a  tremendous  snow- 
storm followed  by  a  gale  carried  them  out  to  sea,  and  no  exer- 
tions of  Captain  Frazer  served  to  bring  his  ship  to  the  third 
station.      During    the    night    of    the    9th    disaster    threatened. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  87 

Twisted  by  the  violeni  blows  of  the  storm-lashed  waves,  the 
larboard  side  of  the  vessel  opened  its  seams,  and  water  gushed 
in;  but  the  overruhng  power  of  God  averted  loss.  It  was 
August  7,  1817,  however  before  Km.och  and  his  wife  and  Korner 
concluded  their  trip  to  Hopedale,  begun  almost  a  year  before. 

The  course  of  the  mission  in  the  West  Indies  is  now  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  movement  for  the  abolition  of  slav- 
ery.    The  pens  of  Clarkson  and  Ramsay  had  already  stimulated 
and  reenforced  the  voices  of  Wilberforce  and  Sharp,  and  in  1788 
the  Crown  had  appointed  a  committee  of  Privy  Council  to  make 
inquiry  concerning  the  slave-trade.     Wilberforce  had  made  his 
first  motion  for  a  committee  of  the  whole  House  of  Commons 
on  this  question,  and  during  the  years  1790  and  1791  evidence 
was  taken.     Meantime  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  in  Paris 
had  direct  bearing  upon  the  issue  in  the  French  colonies.     In 
1 791  the  National  Convention  passed  a  decree  giving  to  the 
mulattos  all  the  rights  of  French  citizens.     The  plantation  slaves 
became  infected  with  a  determination  that  the  principles  enun- 
ciated in  the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  should  be  ex- 
tended to  themselves.     Slave  insurrections  broke  out  in  Hayti, 
Martinique  and  in  the  British  colony  of  Dominica.     In  1793  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  Hayti  was  proclaimed,  and  made  possible 
the  enormities  of  Toussaint  I'Ouverture  and  Dessalines.     These 
events  prejudiced  sentiment  in  Britain.     In  Denmark  the  neces- 
sity for  progressive  action  became  apparent.     So  long  as  Den- 
mark   preserved    neutrality,    her    colonies,    and    especially    St. 
Thomas  with  its  capacious  harbor,  became  the  rendezvous  for 
commerce  under  every  flag.       Refugee  capitalists  and  adven- 
turers from  the  other  Antilles  and  all  parts  of  the  Spanish  Main 
sought  out  the  Danish  islands.      All  the  more  likely  was  the 
slave  trade  to  flourish  there,  and  all  the  more  open  would  her 
slave  population  be  to  the  influence  of  insurrectionary  move- 
ments   in   progress    elsewhere.      Most   urgent    representations 
were  accordingly  made  to  the  home  government  respecting  the 
dangers  that  threatened.     This  situation  of  affairs  led  the  King 
of  Denmark  on  May  16,  1792,  to  issue  a  royal  order,  that  the 
traffic  in  slaves  should  cease  in  Danish  possessions  from  the  end 
of  the  year  1802.     At  the  same  time  and  in  the  years  immedi- 
diately    following,    repeated    requests    were    addressed    to    the 
Unity's   Elders'    Conference   by   Minister    Schimmelmann    and 
Countess  von  Reventlow  in  the  name  of  land-owners  on  St. 


88  A    HISTORY   OF 

Croix  that  the  Brethren  would  widen  the  scope  of  their  under- 
takings, and  in  particular  assume  the  religious  and  civil  educa- 
tion of  the  children  of  the  slaves.  With  all  good  will,  the  trust 
could  not  be  accepted  in  the  measure  intended  by  the  proposers. 
The  times  were  hard.  Long  continued  drought,  following  a 
season  of  general  sickness,  lasted  for  four  years.  Scarcely  any 
vegetation  was  to  be  seen,  except  the  foliage  of  the  large  trees. 
In  St.  Croix  drinking  water  was  sold  at  a  considerable  price. 
Scarcity  of  provisions  added  its  distressing  features  to  those 
produced  by  the  prostration  of  industry,  complicated  by  the 
monetary  confusion  in  America  since  the  trade  of  these 
islands  was  chiefly  with  the  States.  Planters  in  their  financial 
embarrassment  frequently  separated  parents  and  children,  hus- 
bands and  wives,  selling  them  wherever  purchasers  could  be 
secured.  Thus  members  of  the  church  were  scattered  to  Porto 
Rico,  Tortola  and  St.  Domingo.  Moreover  an  awful  tornado 
on  August  12  and  13,  1793,  long  left  its  memory  impressed  upon 
St.  Thomas  and  St.  John.  The  church  at  Bethany  collapsed  in 
utter  ruin,  and  the  missionaries  barely  escaped  with  their  lives. 
Most  of  the  people  lost  houses,  stores,  provisions  and  cattle, 
and  many  men  and  women  and  children  perished.  The  church 
at  Emmaus  remained  standing,  but  the  surrounding  settlement 
was  destroyed.  The  smaller  buildings  at  New  Herrnhut  and 
Nisky  were  demolished.  Not  a  plantation  on  St.  Thomas  but 
suffered.  Forty  ships  were  driven  ashore.  John  Gottlieb 
Miicke,  superintendent  since  1791,  had  his  burden  of  cares  made 
heavy  indeed. 

These  circumstances  brought  John  Renatus  Verbeek  to  the 
islands,  to  minister  comfort  in  the  name  of  the  home  congrega- 
tions. Three  months  from  April,  1797,  he  closely  inspected 
each  station.  Then  he  proceeded  to  St.  Kitts.  Here  progress 
had  been  made.  Large  accessions  were  the  rule.  The  mission 
enjoyed  general  esteem. 

Steady  progress  also  characterized  Antigua.  Moravian 
blacks  were  selected  for  positions  of  responsibility,  owing  to 
their  well-attested  reliability  and  fidelity.  In  1796  land  for  a 
third  station  had  been  acquired  at  the  sea-shore.  It  received 
the  name  of  Gracebay. 

In  Barbados  Adam  Haman  and  John  Montgomery  had  be- 
gun to  reap  after  years  of  patience,  but  the  disadvantage  of 
operations  with  Bunkershill,  so  remote  from  Bridgetown,  as  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  89 

center,  had  become  apparent.     Hence  in  1794  eleven  acres  had 
been  acquired  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital,  and  named  Sharon. 
Verbeek  returned  to  Herrnhut  in  August,  1798. 
Though  greatly  encouraged  by  his  active  sympathy  and  wise 
counsel,  the  missionaries  on  the  Antilles  were  to  realize,  how- 
ever,   that   difficulties    were    not    over.      In    March,    1801,    St. 
Thomas  surrendered  to  a  powerful  British  fleet.     The  remain- 
ing Danish  islands  speedily  followed  this  example.     The  requi- 
sition of  the  mission  buildings  at  Friedensberg  for  a  hospital 
followed  in  April.     With  an  intermission  of  a  few  years  Britain 
kept  control  of  the  three  islands  until  1815.     But  with  all  the 
uncertaintv  of  the  times  a  new  station  was  begun  on  St.  Croix, 
Friedensfeld,  central  in  its  location.     Characteristic  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  period  were  the  experiences  of  John  Gottlieb 
Ramsch  and  John  Samuel  Schaerf,  who  had  been  detained  in 
company  with  the  missionaries  to  Greenland  on  the  HvalHskcn 
in  the  spring  of  181 3.     Having  sailed  from  Portsmouth  in  No- 
vember, they  were  rapidly  nearing  their  destination,  when  on 
January  10,  1814,  their  ship  was  chased  by  a  vessel  of  superior 
size  flying  the  American  colors.     It  proved  a  privateer  of  four- 
teen guns.     Though  the  Englishman  mounted  only  six,  decks 
were  cleared  for  action.     The  missionaries  went  below  and  be- 
took themselves  to  earnest  prayer.     The  chase  was  stern.     Not 
until  half  past  seven  in  the  evening  was  the  American  close 
enough  to  exchange  shots.       The  fight  was  stubbornly  con- 
tinued through  the  night.     Thrice  the  privateer  tried  to  board 
the  merchantman.     But  although  one  hundred  and  twenty  as- 
sailants were  met  by  only  twenty-two.  soon  after  daybreak  the 
aggressor  drew  off.'    The  English  ship  was  so  badly  damaged 
that  it  was  fortunate  she  could  make  St.  Thomas  next  noon. 
One  of  her  men  had  been  killed  and  eleven  wounded.       The 
sequel  is  found  in  the  diary  of  Friedensberg  for  1819.     In  March 
a  captain  from  Philadelphia  who  was  known  to  the  mission- 
aries brought  a  fellow  captain  of  similarly  pronounced  Chris- 
tian character  to  visit  the  Brethren.     After  a  while  it  developed 
in  the  course  of  conversation  that  the  latter,  Captain  Boyle  of 
Baltimore,  had   commanded  the   American   ship  in   the  fight. 
When  Sister  Ramsch  now  described  to  him  the  earnestness  of 
the  intercessions  of  the  missionaries  during  the  hours  of  con- 
flict and  suspense,  he  confessed  that  at  the  time  the  escape  of 
the  Enghsh  vessel  had  been  a  mystery  to  him.     He  had  later 


90  A   HISTORY    OF 

learnt  that  her  passengers  were  missionaries,  and  the  whole  epi- 
sode had  providentially  served  to  lead  him  from  rough  habits 
and  a  life  of  indifference  to  religion.  In  fact  it  had  been  the 
means  of  his  conversion. 

Meantime  on  the  Enghsh  islands  progress  was  being  made. 
As  soon  as  Tobago  came  again  into  the  secure  possession  of 
Britain,  Carl  Schirmer  was  sent  to  the  slaves  on  the  Hamilton 
estate,  and  in  1800  John  Church  became  his  efficient  coadjutor. 
The  Antigua  mission  grew  apace,  in  spite  of  frequent  deaths 
of  missionaries  from  fever.  Gracebay  was  transferred  from  its 
old  site  to  Manchineel  Hill,  in  181 1,  and  Newfield  was  begun  in 
181 7,  the  membership  having  grown  to  seven  thousand.  Bar- 
bados remained  a  field  of  more  modest  proportions.  St.  Kitts 
severely  felt  the  vicissitudes  of  the  war.  Provisions  rose  to 
famine  prices.  In  the  spring  of  1S05  the  French  fleet  anchored 
in  Basseterre  harbor,  and  for  a  time  the  Union  Jack  had  to  give 
place  to  the  Tricolor.  This  delayed  the  establishment  of  Beth- 
esda  until  1819.  About  two  thousand  persons  were  in  charge 
of  the  missionaries  here  at  this  time.  Jamaica  also  knew  its 
deep  anxieties,  from  its  proximity  to  St.  Domingo.  David 
Taylor,  Christian  Lister,  superintendent  since  1790,  Christopher 
Herbst,  John  Bowen,  Philip  Howell,  Nathanael  Brown,  Joseph 
Jackson  and  Thomas  ElHs  were  the  chief  missionaries  during 
the  closing  decades  of  the  century.  Early  in  the  new  century 
the  proprietors  of  various  plantations  placed  halls  on  their  es- 
tates at  the  disposal  of  the  missionaries,  and  in  181 5  Thomas 
Ward  began  Irwin  Kill,  near  Montego  Bay. 

In  Surinam  the  arrival  of  John  Jacob  Fischer  from  Barby  in 
1789  imparted  a  new  spirit  at  Hope  on  the  Corentyne.  En- 
dowed with  unusual  linguistic  ability,  he  acquired  the  Arawack 
so  as  to  preach  within  a  few  months,  and  in  addition  to  the 
possession  of  executive  gifts  he  was  also  blessed  with  strong 
physical  powers.  By  his  persuasion,  the  Indians  removed  to  a 
more  fertile  spot  on  the  Aulibissi  creek,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
old  station,  where  the  mission  was  reestablished  in  1793.  Plan- 
tations of  coffee,  bananas  and  cotton  soon  rewarded  the  dili- 
gence of  the  converts,  and  a  neat  village  surrounded  the  church. 
Mat-weaving  and  the  manufacture  of  hammocks  and  the  prepa- 
ration of  lumber  formed  an  additional  means  of  support,  the 
products  being  taken  to  Berbice.  Before  long  a  mission  boat 
was  regularly  employed  to  carry  these  goods  to  market.     The 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  9 1 

voyage  back  and  forth  was  sometimes  attended  with  a  spice  of 
danger,  Fischer  and  John  Peter  Kiuge  suffering  shipwreck  in 
August,  1795,  and  the  latter  being  captured  by  an  English  pri- 
vateer in  1796. 

But  alas,  the  glory  of  Hope  with  its  three  hundred  people 
was  nipped  in  the  bud.  Small-pox  broke  out  in  1800.  2vIore 
than  twenty  died  within  six  months.  Fear  stimulated  the  re- 
assertion  of  the  Indians'  disposition  to  rove,  and  missionaries 
rather  encouraged  the  hiving  of  their  swarm,  in  order  the  more 
thoroughly  to  influence  numerous  Arawack  and  Carib  villages. 
By  April  the  majority  wished  to  be  transferred  to  Aporo,  seven 
hours'  distant,  but  their  teachers  remained  at  Hope,  visiting 
the  filial  at  stated  intervals.  Aporo  never  prospered.  Hope 
itself  soon  met  with  a  sore  calamity.  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  August  18,  1806,  the  cry  of  "fire"  suddenly  rang 
out.  Built  as  the  houses  were  of  logs,  plastered  externally  or 
weather-boarded,  and  having  lath  and  plaster  partitions,  ceiled 
with  planks  and  thatched  with  large  leaves  in  the  Indian  man- 
ner, the  school,  the  mission-house,  the  homes  of  individual  mis- 
sionary families  and  those  of  the  converts  quickly  succumbed  to 
the  flames  leaping  like  lightning  from  roof  to  roof.  The  entire 
village  was  reduced  to  smoking  embers.  Stores  of  various 
kinds,  tools  and  implements,  the  tackle  and  rigging  of  the  mis- 
sion-boat, and  the  very  orange  trees  whose  shade  had  been  so 
pleasant,  were  destroyed ;  books,  clothing,  some  gunpov/der 
and  two  barrels  of  flour,  and  the  charred  walls  of  the  church — 
this  was  all  the  devouring  element  had  spared.  The  fire  was 
of  incendiary  origin  and  two  years  later  the  place  had  to  be 
abandoned  owing  to  the  hostihty  of  the  heathen.  Yet  the 
ground  was  not  yielded  without  an  effort.  In  September,  iSii, 
Thomas  Langballe  and  his  wife  came  from  Paramaribo  in  order 
to  renew  the  work.  They  found  a  desolate  solitude.  Where 
formerly  the  house  and  gardens  of  the  mission  had  stood,  rank 
tropical  vegetation  had  taken  possession ;  Hope  had  become 
the  home  of  screaming  parrots  and  the  hiding  place  of  reptiles. 
Yet  the  memory  of  better  days  survived.  Langballe  and  his 
wife  met  seventy-seven  of  its  former  Indians,  and  were  assured 
that  nearly  two  hundred  were  still  living.  A  desire  was  also 
expressed  for  the  renewal  of  the  mission.  Therefore  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  Genth  and  Hafa  were  sent  from  Param.aribo  to  the 
Corentyne.       Three   miles   from   Hope  they   found   an   Indian 


92  A    HISTORY    OF 

house  prepared  for  their  reception  by  Barzillai,  one  of  the  con- 
verts. Neither  fevers  nor  the  toil  of  clearing  the  dense  forest 
would  have  daunted  them.  But  the  indifference  of  the  Indians 
themselves  finally  caused  them  to  turn  to  others  who  prized 
the  message  more  highly,  the  slaves  on  the  plantations. 

For  under  John  Wied  this  mission  made  vigorous  strides  for- 
ward. Appointed  superintendent  in  1790,  he  had  been  accom- 
panied on  his  voyage  out  by  Bishop  Samuel  Liebisch,  whose 
of^cial  visit  had  materially  systematized  methods  of  work 
through  the  creation  of  a  local  board  of  supervision.  Notwith- 
standing the  interruption  of  communications  owing  to  the  war 
between  Holland  and  England,  flour  at  one  time  rising  in  cost 
to  150  florins  per  barrel;  notwithstanding  the  repeated  deaths 
of  men  and  women  from  fever  (when  Liebisch  visited  Para- 
maribo fifteen  missionaries  already  lay  at  rest  in  the  little  ceme- 
tery in  the  Brethren's  quarter) ;  and  in  spite  of  the  fetishism  in 
the  very  blood  of  the  people,  the  congregation  in  the  city 
now  advanced  rapidly,  numbering  seven  hundred  and  fifteen  in 
1815.  At  the  price  of  several  lives  New  Bambey  had  been  main- 
tained, but  in  1813  the  mission  in  the  wilderness  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. So,  too,  the  opposition  of  the  planters  compelled  a  ces- 
sation of  operations  at  Sommelsdyk  with  its  one  hundred  and 
fifty  converts  in  1818. 

After  the  restoration  of  Cape  Colony  to  the  Dutch,  Governor 
Jansen  was  very  sedulous  in  developing  a  corps  of  Hottentot 
auxiliaries  for  defence  against  future  invaders.  The  fam.e  of 
Baviaanskloof  had  spread  by  this  time,  and  its  people  had  so 
won  a  name  for  steadiness,  that  rascally  natives  were  wont  to 
palm  themselves  ofif  as  inhabitants  of  the  place  in  order  to  bet- 
ter secure  positions  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  planters,  and 
the  missionaries  issued  certificates  as  a  protection  against  im- 
posters.  Now  Moravian  Hottentots  were  particularly  in  de- 
mand as  non-commissioned  officers  of  this  mihtia.  Next  John 
Philip  Kohrhammer  was  appointed  chaplain,  but  his  chaplaincy 
came  to  a  sudden  termination  in  January,  1806.  On  the  fourth 
of  the  month  sixty  men-of-war  flying  the  British  flag  entered 
the  roads.  After  a  furious  cannonade  throughout  the  eighth, 
the  invaders  made  good  their  landing.  On  the  twenty-first 
Cape  Colony  once  more  became  a  British  possession.  On  June 
29  the  new  Governor  honored  Genadendal  with  a  visit,  and  ex- 
pressed his  delight  at  what  he  saw.     Pursuing  Jansen's  policy 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  93 

with  regard  to  the  enlistment  of  natives,  however,  General  Baird 
unwittingly  hampered  the  mission.  Baird's  successor,  Lord 
Caledon,  similarly  appreciating  the  humanitarian  aspects  of  the 
undertaking,  suggested  a  new  center  of  influence,  at  Groene- 
kloof,  near  the  sea,  forty  miles  from  Cape  Town  on  the  high 
road  to  Saldhanha  Bay.  Kohrhammer  and  John  Henry 
Schmidt  left  Genadendal  to  inaugurate  the  new  mission  in 
March,  1808.  By  the  end  of  the  year  about  one  hundred  na- 
tives had  established  permanent  homes  in  its  vicinity. 

Here  in  181 1  Schmidt  made  a  thrilHng  experience.  Packs  of 
wolves  constantly  ravaged  the  flocks  of  the  mission.  Hence  in 
August  Schmidt  and  Bonatz  organized  a  wolf  hunt.  They  soon 
wounded  one  beast,  but  he  managed  to  get  away.  Wearied 
with  fruitless  searchings,  the  chase  was  at  last  abandoned. 
Suddenly  a  shout  apprized  them  that  their  people  thought  they 
had  discovered  the  beast  in  a  thicket.  Schmidt  gave  his  horse 
to  a  Hottentot  and  returned,  gun  in  hand.  One  of  the  dogs 
plunged  into  the  dense  brush  and  started — not  the  wolf,  but  a 
tiger!  (Fclis  scrivl.)  The  natives,  except  one,  fled.  Like  a 
flash  the  tiger  springs  on  this  Hottentot,  and  has  him  beneath 
his  body  in  such  a  way  that  Schmidt  cannot  shoot  for  fear  of 
injuring  the  man.  Soon  the  tiger  turns  on  the  missionary, 
whose  gun  is  useless  at  such  close  quarters.  But  he  wards  off 
its  cruel  jaws  with  his  uplifted  arm.  They  snap  upon  his  elbow. 
Then  he  grasps  the  tiger's  fore-foot  with  one  hand  and  with  the 
other  clutches  its  throat.  It  is  a  wrestle  for  life  or  death.  At 
last  the  beast  is  thrown,  and  the  missionary  plants  his  knee  on 
its  body,  the  while  he  keeps  his  grip  on  its  throat.  His  com- 
panion, Philip,  can  render  no  aid,  all  blinded  as  he  is  from  his 
own  wounds.  But  their  cries  bring  the  others.  One  of  them 
points  his  gun  under  Schmidt's  arm,  and  shoots  the  struggHng 
tiger  through  the  heart.  Poor  Schmidt  has  been  dreadfully 
lacerated,  and  suffers  extreme  pain.  Upon  removal  home,  fever 
sets  in.  Happily  the  treatment  of  a  physician  is  successful. 
Philip  also  rallies  from  his  injuries  and  the  shock  of  the  attack. 

The  first  of  the  three  pioneers  of  the  resuscitated  mission  to 
be  removed  by  death  was  John  Christian  Kiihnel,  on  April  20, 
1810.  He  departed  in  the  midst  of  usefulness,  deeply  mourned. 
But  the  workmen  could  safely  pass  to  their  reward  now;  their 
work  was  well  established.  Genadendal  could  soon  count  one 
thousand  souls. 


94  A    HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER   X. 


THE    INDIAN    MISSION,    FROM    182O   TO    1837. 

For  the  missions  amongst  the  Indians  these  were  momentous 
years.  With  the  increase  of  white  settlers  in  the  Tuscarawas 
Valley,  Goshen  had  been  sufifering  a  steady  decline.  One  by 
one  its  Indian  families  removed  to  locaHties  where  game  was 
more  plentiful  and  where  the  outrages  of  border  ruftians  need 
not  be  dreaded.  For  years  the  care  of  the  reservation  on  the 
Tuscarawas  had  been  a  costly  burden  to  the  Society  for  Propa- 
gatmg  the  Gospel  as  trustees  for  the  converts.  Now  that  mis- 
sionary work  was  at  an  end,  retrocession  to  the  government 
was  not  only  inevitable,  but  v/ould  afford  a  relief.  At  the  gen- 
eral meeting  of  the  Society  in  1822  it  was  reported  that  fully 
$32,000  had  been  expended  over  and  above  all  income  from  the 
land.  Negotiations  were  therefore  set  on  foot  which  resulted 
in  the  retrocession  of  the  reservation  to  the  United  States  in 
April,  1824.  The  Christian  Indians  were  to  receive  a  per  capita 
annuity  of  $400  or  a  new  grant  of  24,000  acres.  This  retroces- 
sion mvolved  the  abandonment  of  Beersheba,  but  Gnadenhiitten 
was  laid  out  in  town  lots  by  an  agent  of  the  government.  Not 
that  missionary  interest  and  activity  ceased.  The  first  ofificial 
periodical  of  the  American  Church  was  just  in  the  day?  of  its 
palmy  youth — The  Missionary  Intelligencer,  a  quarterly  devoted 
to  the  furtherance  of  the  foreign  missions,  and  issued  since 
January,  1822,  by  the  Provincial  Helpers'  Conference.  In  June, 
1823,  to  stimulate  new  interest  in  the  mission  amongst  the 
Cherokees,  with  the  consent  of  the  parent  society  the  Society 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  North  Carolina  for  the  Furtherance 
of  the  Gospel  was  organized  by  southern  members  of  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel.  Moreover,  a  legacy  of 
Godfrey  Haga,  a  member  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  Philadel- 
phia and  of  the  missionary  societ}^  in  1825  placed  the  directors 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  95 

of  this  society  in  the  position  of  trustees  of  a  fund  of  about 
$200,000  for  the  benefit  of  the  American  Indian  missions  of  the 
church. 

Shortly  before  the  negotiations  for  the  retrocession  of  the 
Tuscarawas  reservation  had  been  effected,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished veterans  of  the  mission  passed  away.  This  was  John 
Gottlieb  Ernestus  Heckewekler,  who  died  at  Bethlehem  on  Jan- 
uary 31,  1823,  almost  eighty  years  of  age.  Of  old  Moravian 
stock,  he  was  born  at  Bedford  in  England  in  1743,  and  had 
come  to  Pennsylvania  in  1754.  In  1762  he  had  been  Post's 
companion  in  tlie  adventurous  journey  to  the  Ohio,  and  had 
labored  for  years  as  missionary  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Llich- 
igan.  In  1788  he  had  been  appointed  agent  in  Ohio  for  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel.  Twice  he  had  served  as 
United  States  commissioner  for  negotiating  peace  with  Indian 
tribes ;  once  with  General  Rufus  Putman  at  Vincennes,  Indiana, 
in  1792,  and  next  near  Niagara  with  General  Lincoln,  Colonel 
Pickering  and  Beverly  Randolph.  Since  1810  literary  labors 
had  occupied  the  years  of  his  retirement  at  Bethlehem,  repre- 
sented by  his  three  chief  works,  An  Account  of  the  Histo^-y,  Man- 
ners and  Customs  of  the  Indian  Nations  zi'ho  once  inhabited  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  neighboring  States;  A  Narrative  of  the  Missions 
of  the  United  Brethren  among  the  Delaicare  and  Mohegan  Indians; 
and  Najnes  zdiich  the  Lenni-Lenapc  or  Delazvare  Indians  gave  to  the 
Rivers,  Streams  and  Localities,  etc. 

Meantime  the  Cherokee  mission  was  prospering.  In  June, 
1821,  Gambold,  replaced  at  the  first  station  by  Renatus  Smith, 
formerly  of  the  Canadian  mission,  commenced  a  second  station 
about  thirty  miles  distant,  at  Oochgelogy,  in  Gordon  County. 
It  soon  became  a  success.  Here  as  at  Springplace  the  young 
converts  manifested  a  desire  for  more  advanced  education. 
Already  in  1818  three  young  Cherokees  from  Springplace  had 
appeared  at  Salem  on  their  way  to  study  in  the  mission  insti- 
tute at  Cornwall,  Conn.,  and  Gambold  could  write  of  five 
others  who  had  preceded  them.  Ambition  for  assimilation  with 
the  whites  was  very  evident  amongst  the  people  of  the  upper 
towns,  though  the  tribesmen  of  the  lower  lands  had  begun  their 
movement  westwards,  having  received  from  government  an 
extensive  tract  on  the  Arkansas  and  White  Rivers  in  exchange 
for  their  ancestral  homes.  Their  brethren  who  remained  in 
Georgia  on  the  other  hand  were  making  rapid  progress.     The 


96  A    HISTORY    OF 

English  language  had  gained  precedence  as  the  tongue  in  which 
their  national  records  were  kept.  Hunting  had  been  largely 
exchanged  for  agriculture.  Agricultural  implements,  mills, 
machinery  for  cleaning  cotton,  etc.,  had  been  introduced. 

A  powerful  revival  of  religion  characterized  the  winter  of 
1824-25.  In  the  two  succeeding  years  their  own  national  writ- 
ten constitution  was  developed,  Abraham  Hicks,  a  member  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  becoming  the  recognized  head  of  his 
people.  Dying  in  1828,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother.  Chris- 
tian Renatus  Hicks.  But  dangers  were  gathering  and  in- 
terrupte(j  this  pleasing  progress.  Disregarding  the  solemn 
treaties  with  the  general  government  in  1785,  1791,  1798,  etc., 
the  state  of  Georgia  sought  to  extend  her  jurisdiction  over  the 
8,000  square  miles  of  Cherokee  country.  During  and  after  1827 
especially  repressive  measures  were  passed  by  the  state  legisla- 
ture. This  naturally  accellerated  the  tide  of  migration  to  the 
West.  Next  the  state  of  Georgia  directed  its  attack  against  the 
missionaries.  The  notorious  case  of  Samuel  Austin  Worcester 
outraged  the  reHgious  sentiment  of  the  country.  But  Presi- 
dent Jackson  for  party  reasons  declined  to  enforce  the  decision 
of  Chief  Justice  Marshall  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  law  of  Georgia  under  which  he  had  been  con- 
demned was  unconstitutional.  The  noble  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  had  to  sit  in  jail  Hke  a  felon  for  fifteen  months. 
All  whites  had  been  ordered  to  vacate  the  Cherokee  country 
by  March,  1831,  except  officials  appointed  by  the  United  States 
or  by  Georgia.  The  compulsory  withdrawal  of  all  the  Mora- 
vian missionaries  followed,  Gottlieb  Byhan  alone  excepted,  who 
resolved  to  remain  at  Springplace  in  reliance  of  his  position  as 
post-master.  His  arrest  but  speedy  release  followed.  The 
other  missionaries  had  found  a  temporary  home  with  Captain 
McNair,  across  the  border  of  Tennessee,  about  fifteen  miles  dis- 
tant, his  wife  being  a  member  of  the  church.  For  continuing 
to  visit  his  members,  Henry  G.  Clauder,  who  had  been  in  the 
field  since  1829,  was  arrested  on  March  21  by  Georgia  Guards. 
But  their  commander  upon  investigation  permitted  him  to  con- 
tinue his  ministrations,  on  condition  that  after  due  notice  had 
been  given  he  should  finally  leave  the  country  within  ten  days. 
Such  notice  came  in  July,  coupled  with  a  threat  of  imprisonment 
in  case  it  was  not  heeded.  Hence  he  returned  to  Salem  with 
his  family. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  97 

During  the  months  of  uncertainty  services  were  meanwhile 
maintained  at  Oochgelogy  by  Hicks  and  Christian  David  Wat- 
tee,  the  native  assistants.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Byhan  sought 
release  from  his  appointment  as  post-master,  and  Clauder  re- 
ceived it  in  his  place.  During  1832  the  state  of  Georgia  divided 
the  Cherokee  country  amongst  white  people  by  lottery.  The 
mission  property  at  Oochgelogy  was  taken  from  the  church  and 
seized  by  strangers.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1833,  three  families 
compelled  Clauder  to  give  up  one-half  of  the  mission  house  at 
Springplace,  and  a  few  days  later  an  alleged  agent  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Georgia  appeared,  drove  away  the  former  intruders, 
and  ignoring  the  United  States  post-mastership,  ordered  the 
missionaries  oS  the  premises.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years 
Springplace  became  a  county-seat,  and  the  Moravian  church 
was  turned  into  a  court-house. 

Again  McNair  accorded  the  homeless  missionaries  a  friendly 
welcome  and  provided  a  temporary  center  for  missionary  work, 
placing  a  house  and  a  plot  of  ground  at  their  disposal.  Here 
the  mission  school  was  once  more  opened  by  Miss  Ruede,  and 
a  number  of  Indian  communicants,  heads  of  families,  moving 
into  the  neighborhood,  it  seemed  as  though  a  renewal  of  the 
ruthlessly  disrupted  work  might  possibly  be  made  in  Tennes- 
see, 

During  1834  about  one  thousand  Cherokees  moved  to  Ar- 
kansas Territory,  and  in  the  years  following  dissentions  began 
to  deepen  as  to  the  policy  which  the  remainder  ought  to  pur- 
sue. In  1837  the  compulsory  removal  of  the  main  body  of  the 
people  at  length  took  place.  United  States  troops  under  Gen- 
eral Scott  facilitated  the  transportation,  and  served  as  a  guard 
both  for  the  territory  through  which  the  emigration  took  place 
and  for  the  exiles  whom  they  transported.  Thirteen  thousand 
were  thus  conveyed  during  the  autumn  of  this  year,  amongst 
whom  was  the  division  of  the  tribe  to  which  the  ^Moravian  mis- 
sionaries had  ministered.  Chief  John  Ross,  or  Kroweskowee, 
the  head  of  the  nation,  attached  to  the  Moravian  Church  by  vari- 
ous ties,  could  give  no  assurance  that  missionaries  would  be  per- 
mitted to  settle  with  their  converts  in  the  new  homes,  so  great 
a  mistrust  of  the  whites  had  been  aroused  in  the  Indian  mind 
by  the  perfidy  of  the  recent  past. 

Meantime  the  mission  at  New  Fairfield  enjoyed  a  steady 
career  of  usefulness,  though  frequent  changes  in  the  force  of 


98  A    HISTORY   OF 

missionaries  were  necessary.  John  Schnall  died  at  his  post 
of  duty  in  September,  1819,  having  been  identified  with  the 
mission  since  1801.  Abraham  Luckenbach  came  from  Goshen 
to  assume  charge.  He  had  already  served  as  a  missionary 
amongst  the  Indians  for  nineteen  years,  and  was  to  be  the  lead- 
ing spirit  at  New  Fairfield  for  another  period  of  twenty-four 
years,  with  various  assistants  from  time  to  time. 

In  the  year  1833  C.  J.  La  Trobe  of  London,  who  visited  the 
reservation  in  the  course  of  his  travels  in  America,  described 
the  tract  as  distinguished  for  the  richness  of  its  alluvial  soil 
and  its  luxuriant  growth  of  sugar  maple,  white  pine  and  oak. 
He  pictures  the  settlement  as  formed  of  "one  principal  street 
of  rude  log  cottages,  at  some  distance  apart  from  each  other, 
stretching  across  an  open  space,  flanked  by  wheat  fields,  and 
almost  surrounded  by  a  bend  of  the  river."  About  six  hundred 
acres  were  under  cultivation. 

But  soon  an  eventful  change  took  place,  partly  on  account  of 
repeated  encroachments  of  white  settlers  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  reservation  had  been  granted  in  perpetuity.  In 
the  early  summer  of  the  very  next  year  after  La  Trobe's  visit, 
three  reliable  Indian  brethren,  Abraham,  Augustus  and  Noah, 
were  sent  to  make  reconnaissance  in  the  United  States  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  White 
River.  Returning  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  they  reported 
that  they  had  not  reached  the  intended  objective,  but  had  visited 
the  Delawares  about  three  hundred  and  thirty  miles  northwest 
of  St.  Louis,  from  whom  they  met  a  reception  that  could  not 
be  called  cordial.  This  report  at  first  had  dampened  the  spirit 
of  migration.  Yet  from  time  to  time  the  project  was  renewed, 
and  was  finally  carried  out  in  1837.  Meantime  the  winter  of 
1835-36  was  marked  by  a  deep  revival  of  religion,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  latter  year  the  congregation  numbered  two  hundred 
and  eighty-two  persons. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  99 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE    FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    FROM    1818   TO    1836. 

On  the  restoration  of  peace  in  Europe  communication  with 
Greenland  via  Copenhagen  could  again  be  regularly  maintained. 
The  obstacles  were  only  those  which  nature  placed  by  fencing 
in  the  inhospitable  coast  with  ice  blinks  and  bergs,  as  when 
Frederick  Christian  Kranich  was  lost  at  sea  in  1824,  and  in  the 
same  year  a  company  of  missionaries  encountered  ten  dreadful 
gales  in  succession  during  their  outward  voyage,  the  vessel  at 
times  becoming  unmanageable  from  the  freezing  of  the  rigging 
and  sails,  and  being  severely  damaged  ofif  Staatenhuk. 

Kleinschmidt's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  was  printed 
by  the  British  and  Foreign  Society,  the  first  copies  being  re- 
ceived in  Greenland  in  July,  1823.  The  translator  unweariedly 
continued  literary  labors  until  his  death  on  December  11,  1832. 
Parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  a  Greenland  Grammar  were  his 
additional  memorial. 

For  some  time  an  extension  of  operations  southwards  had 
been  desired,  to  reach  the  heathen  with  whom  contact  had  been 
possible  only  when  they  visited  their  favorite  herring  fishery  five 
miles  from  Lichtenau.  Narkasamia,  near  the  promontory  of 
Staatenhuk,  was  selected,  and  in  1824  Kleinschmidt  and  his  wife, 
John  Conrad  Bauss  and  his  wife,  with  John  Arnold  de  Fries  and 
Martin  William  Popp,  made  a  commencement.  For  twelve 
weeks  tent-life  had  to  be  endured  amid  storms,  and  the  exchange 
effected  on  October  17,  was  only  to  a  sod  hut  of  narrow  dimen- 
sions. In  a  space  28  feet  by  12  the  six  missionaries  had  to  live 
as  best  they  could.  Owing  to  the  uncertainties  of  transporta- 
tion the  frame  of  their  permanent  dwelling  did  not  reach  them 
until  June  of  1828.  IMoreover,  the  log  hut  which  was  erected 
but  not  completed  in  1825  to  replace  the  sod  hut,  was  almost 
blown  over  during  a  storm  early  in  November.  This  led  to  a 
removal  across  the  Konigsbach,  a  salmon  stream  to  the  north, 


100  A   HISTORY   OF 

and  beyond  it  the  permanent  station  was  established.  Popp 
meanwhile  so  suffered  from  rheumatic  fever,  that  he  returned  to 
Europe  in  1S26.  Though  traces  of  ancient  buildings,  relics  of 
the  former  Norse  settlers,  were  discovered,  the  new  site  also 
had  its  disadvantages.  No  harbor  afforded  a  landing  for  the 
trading  vessels.  One  of  the  very  features  which  had  led  to  its 
selection,  the  supply  of  brushwood  that  promised  to  afford  fuel, 
proved  inadequate  after  a  considerable  number  of  Eskimo  fami- 
lies had  been  attracted  to  the  place,  and  dependence  had  to  be 
put  upon  imported  coals,  brought  from  Juhanenhaab.  Never- 
theless for  missionary  purposes  Friedrichsthal  was  admirably 
situated.  Umiak  after  umiak  of  heathen  South  and  East  Green- 
landers  came  to  the  place.  The  work  of  evangelization  pro- 
gressed with  marked  rapidity.  On  September  2,  1824,  the  first 
convert,  Samuel  Ivenak,  was  baptized.  By  the  end  of  1825  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Greenlanders  were  living  here. 

When  the  centenary  of  the  Greenland  mission  was  celebrated, 
January  19,  1833,  the  total  membership  of  the  mission  was  1,808 
souls.  During  the  century  one  hundred  and  two  missionaries 
had  served — some  of  them  for  remarkably  long  periods:  John 
Beck,  43  years;  his  son  Jacob,  52;  John  Sorensen,  47;  John 
Fliegel,  41;  John  Gorke,  44;  John  Grillich,  still  in  service,  46 
years;  and  Conrad  Kleinschmidt,  almost  40  years.  Four  mis- 
sionaries had  lost  their  lives  at  sea,  Daniel  Schneider  in  1742; 
the  widowed  Sister  Konigseer  and  Christian  Heinze  in  1786,  and 
Frederick  Kranich  in  1824. 

In  Labrador  the  mission  was  being  steadily  developed.  As 
in  the  case  of  Greenland,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
assisted  by  printing  various  portions  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
dialect  of  Labrador — the  Epistles  and  the  Apocalypse,  Genesis, 
etc.  Seven  hundred  hymns,  translations  by  Traugott  Martin 
and  George  Schneider,  were  printed  by  the  Society-  for  the  Fur- 
therance of  the  Gospel,  and  reached  Labrador  in  1825. 

For  a  number  of  years  it  had  been  desired  that  the  arm  of  the 
mission  might  reach  out  helpfully  towards  the  heathen  of  the 
northern  stretches  of  the  coast.  In  the  spring  of  1828  the  mis- 
sionaries at  Okak  commenced  to  prepare  building  materials  for 
this  projected  extension  of  operations.  Permission  was  re- 
ceived from  the  British  government  to  found  a  fourth  station, 
coupled  with  the  use  of  the  coast  for  missionary  operations  as 
far  as  the  59th  degree  of  north  latitude.     At  length  in  1829  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  Id 

bay  of  Kangertluksoak  was  selected  by  Sturmann  and  John 
Christian  Beck,  and  in  April  of  the  following  year  Beck  and 
Jonathan  Mentzel  set  out  for  this  place  sixty  miles  distant  from 
Okak,  and  on  dog  sleds  conveyed  thither  the  framework  of  a 
house.  Every  circumstance  conspired  to  favor  the  enterprise. 
Kmoch  could  declare  that  in  all  the  thirty-three  years  of  his 
experience  he  had  never  known  a  better  condition  of  the  ice- 
encrusted  well-packed  snow  to  have  been  maintained  for  so  long 
a  period.  Though  one  hundred  and  five  journeys  in  all  were 
made  by  the  faithful  dogs,  rarely  did  it  require  more  than  one 
day  to  cover  the  sixty  miles  between  the  two  places !  By  July  8 
the  frame  was  erected  and  by  the  21st  protected  with  weather- 
boarding.  Next  day — the  programme  could  not  have  been 
better  carried  out  if  previously  arranged — the  Harmony  dropped 
anchor  in  the  bay,  and  with  her  a  sister  ship,  the  Oliver,  char- 
tered to  bring  special  stores  and  building  materials  for  the  new 
station,  named  Hebron.  The  entire  season  was  so  favorable 
that  Lundberg,  the  superintendent,  reports  a  journey  from  Nain 
to  Okak,  ninety  miles  apart,  accompHshed  by  his  dogs  in  one 
day! 

But  fair  seasons  and  mild  winds  are  the  exception  in  Labra- 
dor. In  contrast  with  this  dovetaiUng  of  plans,  the  voyage  of 
the  Harmony  in  1836  was  one  of  the  most  memorable  she  ever 
made.  Two  hundred  miles  ofT  the  coast  she  met  drift  ice  in 
treacherous  masses  of  great  thickness,  often  concealed  by  a  cov- 
ering of  water  too  shallow  for  a  ship,  and  threatening  her  safety 
from  the  heaving  of  the  ground-swells.  Only  by  letting  down 
fenders  of  tow  or  "cable  junk''  was  serious  injury  averted  from 
the  vessel.  For  eight  days  she  remained  embedded  in  the  ice, 
with  not  a  drop  of  water  in  sight.  Hopedale  harbor  had  been 
clear  of  ice  only  two  days  when  she  entered  it  on  August  4 — a 
providential  circumstance  its  being  free,  otherwise  in  the  nar- 
row and  rocky  channels  destruction  would  have  been  inevitable. 
During  her  return  voyage  a  storm  raged  on  September  26, 
when  a  heavy  sea  carried  away  her  skifT  hanging  astern,  stove 
the  cabin  windows,  swamped  the  cabin,  washed  away  the  bin- 
nacle and  cook  house,  broke  the  wheel  and  nearly  killed  the  man 
beside  it.  Five  days  later  she  rescued  nine  men  from  a  wreck 
after  they  had  been  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  of  famine  and 
exposure,  one  man  dying  on  the  follov.-ing  night.  For  the  mar- 
vellous protection  of  the  Lord  all  through  the  series  of  years 


102  A    HISTORY    OF 

from  the  founding  of  the  mission  a  sense  of  gratitude  was  deep- 
ened in  the  hearts  of  its  friends,  when  the  events  of  this  voyage 
became  known. 

Steady  progress  and  advance  in  the  number  of  stations  and 
in  the  widening  of  educational  activities  now  characterized  the 
work  in  the  West  Indies.  On  the  Danish  islands  the  favor  of 
royalty  was  experienced  in  connection  with  a  rescript  of  Decem- 
ber 24,  1830,  which  put  the  operations  of  the  Brethren  on  the 
same  footing  with  those  of  the  State  Church,  and  the  valuable 
regard  of  the  local  government  and  of  the  planters  continued  to 
be  enjoyed.  On  the  English  islands  a  new  feature  was  introduced 
by  the  increased  activity  of  the  Anglican  Church  and  its  devel- 
opment of  a  more  thorough  organization  through  the  appoint- 
ment of  bishops  for  two  dioceses  with  their  seats  in  Jamaica 
and  Barbados.  Here,  too,  the  premonitions  of  emancipation 
were  accompanied  with  more  or  less  grave  disturbances.  As  so 
frequently,  the  turbulence  of  the  forces  of  nature  had  also  to  be 
taken  into  account,  severe  tornados  marking  several  of  the 
years  and  increasing  the  financial  burdens  of  the  work.  Most 
alarming  of  all  was  that  of  August  10  and  11,  1831,  on  Barba- 
dos. The  church  at  Sharon  was  completely  wrecked  and  the 
mission-houSe  damaged,  vv^hilst  church  and  mission-house  at 
Mount  Tabor  were  left  in  complete  ruin,  the  missionaries  Zippel 
and  wife,  with  their  son  escaping  as  by  a  miracle.  This  last 
calamity  called  forth  liberal  gifts  in  England  and  America  for 
the  rebuilding  of  the  stations. 

Various  experiences  demonstrated  the  fact  that  travel  by  sea 
was  not  yet  unattended  with  dangers.  In  June,  1820,  Christian 
Glockler  and  his  wife,  together  with  Sister  Scharf  and  seven 
children  of  different  missionary  families  on  their  way  to  school, 
took  passage  for  Germany.  On  July  15  altogether  unexpect- 
edly Glockler's  wife  was  carried  ofif  by  a  malignant  fever  of 
which  the  mate  of  the  ship  had  previously  died.  A  sailor  in  the 
vigor  of  young  manhood  was  next  seized,  and  was  also  com- 
mitted to  the  deep.  Then  through  the  perversity  of  a  self-willed 
pilot  the  night  of  August  16  found  them  stranded  on  the  coast 
of  Holland.  Taking  to  the  boats,  and  abandoning  all  their 
efifects,  unprovisioned,  with  nothing  but  their  lives  and  the 
clothing  that  had  been  hastily  donned,  the  passengers  and  the 
ship's  company  with  difficulty  made  the  island  of  Ter  Schilling. 
Here  the  burgomaster  set  an  example  of  Christian  benevolence. 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  IO3 

The  castaways  were  kindly  cared  for  and  furthered  on  their  way. 
In  May  of  1823  a  thrilling  experience  was  made  by  William 
Eberman  and  his  wife,  newly  appointed  to  St.  Croix.  They  set 
sail  from  Philadelphia.  When  only  one  hundred  miles  out,  a 
sudden  squall  threw  the  ship  on  her  beam  ends.  Sister  Eber- 
man was  in  her  cabin  at  the  time.  Water  was  rapidly  pouring 
in,  and  she  was  imprisoned.  With  difificulty  a  hole  was  cut 
through  the  deck  with  axes.  When  the  rescuers  reached  her, 
they  found  the  water  already  up  to  her  neck.  Nothing  daunted, 
however,  the  brave  missionary  couple  proceeded  by  a  later 
opportunity,  ready  to  endure  hardness  for  Christ  Jesus. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1834,  after  a  little  more  than  one 
hundred  years  of  labor,  the  missions  on  the  Danish  islands  num- 
bered 10,321  members — in  St.  Thomas,  1,998;  St.  Croix,  6,682; 
St.  John,  1,641. 

In  Jamaica  a  new  era  had  begun.  Carmel's  pestilential  site 
was  exchanged  for  the  romantic  slopes  of  the  Mayday  Hills. 
Here  the  attention  of  Louis  Stobwasser,  when  on  an  official 
visit,  was  attracted  to  the  prospects  for  an  opening  by  the 
gathering  of  negroes  around  Samuel  Hoch  who  had  retired 
to  the  uplands  for  the  sake  of  health.  Situated  as  his  retreat 
was  near  the  summit  of  a  high  mountain,  the  torrid  heat  of  the 
lowlands  v^as  never  known ;  and  yet  it  never  became  so  cold  that 
fire  was  needed.  The  blue  of  the  sun-lit  sea  feasted  the  eye  in 
the  distance.  To  the  south  the  savannah,  pasture  land  inter- 
spersed with  shady  groves,  formed  the  foreground  of  a  magni- 
ficent view.  Westward  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  about  ten 
miles  aw^ay  and  studded  with  cofifee  plantations,  rose  beyond 
a  plain  covered  with  guinea  grass,  woodland  and  well-tilled 
fields.  To  the  northwest  undulating  tracts,  hill  after  hill, 
stretched  out  to  meet  the  horizon.  Well  might  the  spot  elicit 
its  name — Fairfield.  Stobwasser  having  disposed  of  the 
property  at  Carmel,  acquired  land  here  for  a  mission,  and 
John  Ellis,  lately  transferred  from  Antigua  to  superintend 
the  work  in  Jamaica,  undertook  the  establishment  of  opera- 
tions. A  church  was  dedicated  on  January  15,  1826.  Irwin 
Hill  was  meanwhile  doing  well,  and  a  new  church  could  soon 
be  consecrated  there,  to  be  speedily  followed  by  New  Carmel, 
Fulneck  and  Bethlehem— all  by  the  end  of  the  year  1831,  whilst 
a  new  attempt  was  also  made  at  Mesopotamia. 


104  ^  HISTORY   OF 

And  now  came  the  anxieties  and  the  opportunities  of  the 
transition  period  leading  to  complete  emancipation.  For  a 
quarter  of  a  century  the  importation  of  blacks  from  Africa  had 
been  inhibited.  But  a  slave  population  of  six  hundred  thousand 
existed  on  the  islands  under  the  British  flag.  The  long  labors 
of  Wilberforce  and  Buxton  at  last  ripened  in  the  decree  that 
slavery  should  be  abolished  through  the  payment  of  twenty 
millions  sterling  as  compensation  to  the  proprietors.  This 
legislation  of  1833  ^^^^  preceded  by  various  premonitions  of 
trouble,  notably  in  Antigua  in  183 1  and  in  Jamaica  in  1S33. 
As  far  back  as  1823  there  had  been  friction  between  the  As- 
sembly of  the  latter  island  and  the  home  government,  the  points 
especially  at  issue  being  the  abrogation  of  Sunday  markets,  the 
cessation  of  the  practice  of  carrying  a  whip  in  the  field  and  the 
exemption  of  women  from  all  forms  of  corporal  punishment. 
Sentiment  was  aroused  to  such  an  extent  that  there  were  threats 
of  transferring  the  allegiance  of  Jamaica  to  the  United  States, 
or  even  of  aiming  at  independence.  The  excitement  reached 
the  slaves  themselves.  Agitators  persuaded  them,  that  if  they 
did  not  now  strive  for  freedom,  emancipation  would  be  forever 
lost.  A  rebellion  broke  out  on  December  28,  1831.  The  mili- 
tary speedily  crushed  it ;  but  property  had  been  destroyed  to  the 
value  of  $3,334,885.  A  number  of  clergymen  of  various 
churches  were  arrested  and  tried  by  martial  law,  and  acquitted, 
on  the  charge  of  inciting  the  slaves  to  rebellion.  The  animosity 
of  some  slave-holders  towards  those  who  were  trying  to  ameli- 
orate the  spiritual  condition  of  the  blacks  caused  the  destruction 
of  Wesleyan  and  Baptist  churches  in  the  parishes  of  St.  Ann, 
Trelawny  and  St.  James,  whilst  personal  insults  and  injuries 
were  suffered  by  the  missionaries. 

During  this  time  of  excitement  Henry  Gottlieb  PfeifTer,  the 
Moravian  missionary  at  New  Eden,  was  seized,  and  taken  to 
Mandeville  by  a  lieutenant  with  a  squad  of  thirty  men.  Explicit 
charges  were  not  forthcoming.  Trial  by  courtmartial  was  set 
for  January  15,  1832,  one  week  hence.  In  vain  did  John 
Ellis  endeavor  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  indictment.  Knowledge 
in  advance  respecting  the  exact  form  of  the  accusation  was 
withheld  from  prisoner.  V^erbal  testimony  for  the  defense  was 
ruled  out,  written  evidence  alone  being  admitted.  Legal  as- 
sistance was  refused,  though  he  had  only  imperfect  knowledge 
of  the  English  language  and  still  less  acquaintance  with  English 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 05 

legal  procedure.  Against  him  two  women  and  two  men  were 
produced.  Verbal  evidence  in  accusation  was  in  order.  Jus- 
tice seemed  suspended.  The  principal  witness  for  the  prose- 
cution was  brought  from  prison  to  the  court,  and  had  not  sat 
under  the  preaching  of  Pfeiffer  for  two  years.  ^Moreover  he 
was  soon  afterwards  shot  as  an  active  agent  in  the  insurrection. 
The  other  m.ale  witness  was  more  than  suspected  of  having 
perjured  him.seif  in  connection  with  the  trial.  One  of  the 
women  had  been  excluded  from  church  fellowship  six  years 
previously  for  adultery,  and  had  not  been  seen  in  the  church  of 
late ;  nevertheless  she  proposed  to  testify  concerning  the  pulpit 
utterances  of  the  minister.  The  evidence  offered  by  the  other 
woman  was  to  the  effect  that  he  had  publicly  incited  the  negroes 
to  rebellion  in  his  address  to  them  at  Christmas — an  absurdity 
on  the  face  of  it,  since  in  the  audience  on  that  occasion  were 
persons  who  were  slaveholders.  Inevitably  acquittal  followed. 
But  amid  the  wrought-up  feehngs  of  the  times  the  week  had 
"been  one  of  deepest  anxiety  for  poor  Pfeififer. 

Freedom  was  not  delayed  by  the  disturbances.  By  Act  of 
Parliament  on  and  after  the  first  of  August,  1834,  slavery  be- 
came impossible  throughout  the  British  colonies.  An  appren- 
ticeship of  four  or  six  years,  according  to  the  class  of  employ- 
ment, was  however  inaugurated,  to  prevent  evils  that  might 
have  come  from  too  hastily  overturning  the  existing  order  of 
affairs.  No  less  than  3 11, 070  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  were 
affected  by  this  beneficent  legislation.  Meanwhile  very  few 
Moravian  negroes  had  been  implicated  in  the  late  disturbances, 
even  to  the  extent  of  abandoning  their  work  for  a  few  days. 
Not  one  member  was  convicted  of  an  act  of  violence — not  even 
in  congregations  like  New  Carmel,  New  Fulneck,  Mesopotamia, 
Malvern  and  Beaufort,  near  to  the  chief  scenes  of  rebellion. 
Whole  properties  where  the  Brethren  had  been  privileged  to 
preach,  remained  perfectly  quiet,  though  incendiary  fires  were 
blazing  within  a  few  miles  of  them.  In  some  cases  Moravian 
"native  helpers"  were  entrusted  with  and  g-uarded  their  mas- 
ter's property,  when  he  himself  had  to  flee. 

In  anticipation  of  complete  emancipation  special  attention 
was  now  given  to  the  work  of  education.  By  March,  1834,  no 
less  than  twenty-six  JMoravian  schools  were  in  operation. 

In  spite  of  all  apprehensions  Emancipation  Day,  August  i, 
1834,  a  public  holiday  by  Act  of  Assembly,  was  spent  by  the 


I06  A   HISTORY    OF 

liberated  multitudes  in  a  manner  worthy  of  its  significance. 
The  thankful  people  thronged  the  churches,  and  with  devout 
hallelujahs  ascribed  their  dehverance  to  Almighty  God.  The 
religious  life  of  the  people  was  deepened  by  their  great  experi- 
ence. All  the  mission  stations  felt  the  impetus  of  the  change- 
Churches  had  to  be  enlarged  or  new  structures  built.  A  great 
desire  for  instruction  arose,  though  superstitions  and  obeahism 
did  not  die  in  a  day.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1835  the  total 
membership  on  the  island  was  8,521,  an  increase  of  1,339  ^^ 
twelve  months. 

In  the  eastern  English  islands  a  similar  advance  took  place. 
During  the  year  181 9  six  hundred  and  seventy-two  adults  were 
baptized  in  Antigua.  St.  Johns  budded  out  into  new  congre- 
gations, Newfield  in  1819  and  Cedar  Hall  in  1822.  When  Chris- 
tian Frederick  Richter  died  in  September,  1825,  he  could  rejoice 
in  the  knowledge  that  his  labors  had  not  been  in  vain.  Joseph 
Newby  followed  him  as  superintendent,  to  be  succeeded  in  turn 
by  Bennet  Harvey  in  183 1.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1835  the 
mission  counted  10,654  members,  a  gain  of  about  three  thousand 
in  less  than  twenty  years. 

In  St.  Kitts  Bethesda  was  consecrated  in  1821  and  Bethel  was 
commenced  in  1831,  and  during  the  period  a  net  increase  of 
about  one  thousand  souls  brought  the  membership  to  3,168. 

In  Barbados,  where  John  Taylor  was  superintendent,  Sharon- 
was  the  only  congregation  at  the  commencement  of  the  period, 
with  a  membership  of  from  two  to  three  hundred.  Tabor  was 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  mission  by  the  Haynes  family  of 
Bellmount  in  1826 — on  a  beautiful  elevation  commanding  a  fine 
view  out  to  sea  and  in  the  midst  of  a  populous  neighborhood 
that  supported  fifty  sugar  mills.  Both  stations  speedily  arose 
from  their  ruins  after  the  storm  of  1831,  and  a  wide-spread  re- 
vival of  religion  followed.  In  May,  1835,  the  dedication  of  a 
third  church,  on  Roebuck  Street,  in  Bridgetown,  was  Taylor's 
last  achievement,  before  yellow  fever,  fatal  to  ten  West  Indian 
missionaries  at  this  time,  brought  his  fruitful  labors  to  an  end. 
The  Barbados  mission,  exclusive  of  Bridgetown,  for  which  re- 
turns are  not  at  hand,  had  increased  to  1,441  members. 

In  1826  at  the  repeated  solicitations  of  members  of  the  Ham- 
ilton family,  who  had  sought  to  promote  the  establishment  of  a 
mission  there  in  Montgomery's  day,  a  renewed  attempt  was 
made  on  the  island  of  Tobago  by  Peter  Ricksecker  from  Penn- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  10/ 

sylvania.  The  station  at  its  dedication  two  years  later  received 
the  name  of  iMontgomery.  Very  frequent  changes  in  the  mis- 
sionary force  on  this  island  were  necessitated  by  its  unhealthy 
climate ;  but  at  the  end  of  the  year  1835  the  new  station  num- 
bered 309  members. 

At  the  opening  of  the  period  operations  in  the  colony  of  Suri- 
nam were  practically  confined  to  the  capital  and  a  few  estates 
whose  mianagers  permitted  occasional  visits  of  missionaries.  In 
January,  1821,  a  great  conflagration  swept  away  four  hundred 
buildings  in  Paramaribo,  exclusive  of  those  on  side  or  rear 
streets.  The  roaring  torrent  of  flame  came  seething  across  to 
the  very  edge  of  the  Brethren's  quarter,  and  for  twenty-four 
hours  seemed  irresistible.  Their  prayers  were  heard  in  its 
being  averted  from  the  church.  The  deliverance  was  so  signal, 
that  following  as  it  did  on  the  heels  of  a  great  mortality  from 
small-pox,  very  many  were  led  to  seriously  inquire  the  v,'ay  of 
salvation,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  ninety-six  adults  were 
baptized. 

New  estates  now  began  to  be  thrown  open — by  1826  six,  thir- 
teen during  the  following  year,  and  ninety  within  a  decade.  It 
was  impossible  to  pay  as  close  attention  to  the  slaves  as  was 
desired,  for  they  were  compelled  to  stay  within  the  Hmits  of  the 
estates  to  which  they  belonged,  and  during  the  early  part  of  this 
period  only  five  missionary  couples  were  stationed  in  the  cap- 
ital. But  the  effort  was  made  to  visit  each  estate  at  intervals 
of  about  eight  weeks.  Intercourse  was  had  by  v/ater  up  the 
rivers,  the  boats  and  boatmen  for  the  regular  round  of  visits 
being  provided  through  the  Dutch  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Christian  Knowledge  amongst  the  Negroes  of  Surinam, 
founded  in  1828.  This  same  society  manifested  its  appreciation 
of  the  missionaries'  labors  by  defraying  about  half  the  cost  of 
the  new  church  which  the  increase  of  miembership  in  Para- 
maribo now  rendered  necessary.  Commenced  in  July,  1827,  its 
dimensions  95  by  60  feet,  it  was  built  over  and  around  the  old 
church  in  such  a  manner  that  the  regular  round  of  the  services 
was  not  interrupted  while  its  walls  arose.  The  governor  of  the 
colony  lent  his  countenance  and  personal  financial  aid.  The 
reputation  of  the  Brethren  was  also  shown  by  the  transfer  to 
them  of  the  spiritual  care  of  the  prisoners  and  slaves  in  the  fort 
of  New  Amsterdam  and  the  suburb  of  Zeelandia  (Combe),  with 


I08  A    HISTORY    OF 

the  evident  desire  of  thus  contributing  to  prepare  the  black 
population  for  emancipation. 

Though  the  Harmony  of  the  Four  Evangelists,  translated 
into  Negro-English,  had  been  published  in  1821,  as  yet  no  por- 
tion of  the  Bible  itself  had  been  printed  for  circulation  amongst 
the  negroes  of  Surinam,  few  of  them  hitherto  being  able  to  read. 
The  New  Testament  in  this  mongrel  tongue  existed  in  manu- 
script. Now  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  judged  that 
the  time  had  come  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  The 
mission  naturally  felt  the  good  effects  of  this  beneficence ;  for 
even  where  older  persons  could  not  themselves  read,  it  often 
happened  that  their  children  could  do  this  service  for  them. 
Paramaribo  could  now  report  2,133  members,  and  about  400 
were  in  addition  scattered  among  the  plantations,  whilst  Char- 
lottenburg  on  the  Cottica,  about  thirty  miles  to  the  east  of  the 
city,  was  founded  in  1835  as  a  center  of  operations  for  about 
eighty  estates. 

During  the  official  visit  of  Christian  Ignatius  La  Trobe,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  who 
landed  on  Christmas  Eve,  1815,  a  number  of  proposals  had  been 
received  for  the  commencement  of  new  missions  in  Cape  Col- 
ony. One  of  these  was  accepted.  Though  within  the  colony, 
it  was  to  furnish  a  basis  of  work  amongst  the  Kaffirs,  being  sit- 
uated on  the  White  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Sunday,  about  four 
hundred  miles  east  of  Capetown,  in  the  Uitenhagen  district. 

On  February  15,  1818,  John  Henry  Schmidt,  who  was  to 
superintend  its  establishment,  set  out  from  Groenekloof 
(Mamre),  with  his  wife  and  John  Frederick  Hoffman  and  God- 
frey Hornig.  At  Genadendal  they  were  joined  by  the  widowed 
Sister  Kohrhammer.  Their  destination  was  reached  on  April 
17;  and  several  families  of  Hottentots  from  Genadendal,  the 
nucleus  of  Enon,  as  the  new  place  was  named,  set  to  work  with 
them  to  clear  away  the  mimosa  bushes,  prepare  the  ground  for 
cultivation  and  erect  temporary  homes.  Scarcely  was  the  work 
opening  up,  when  the  border  territory  was  plunged  into  all  the 
horrors  of  a  war  of  rival  savages,  T'Gaika  and  Stambe.  On 
February  9,  1819,  a  band  of  Kaffirs  suddenly  rushed  from 
neighboring  wood  and  made  off  with  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  head  of  cattle  belonging  to  the  Enon.  Until  March  7  the 
mission,  isolated,  and  with  the  nearest  neighbors  a  day's  jour- 
ney distant,  was  in  expectation  of  the  worst.     Guards  were  set 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  IO9 

day  and  night,  and  their  vigilance  alone  averted  an  actual  at- 
tack. Food  became  very  scarce.  But  at  last  the  colonial  forces 
pushed  the  raiders  back  across  the  border.  Yet  a  second  inva- 
sion followed,  and  the  mission  was  reluctantly  abandoned  by 
the  advice  of  the  colonial  authorities,  after  nine  Hottentot 
Christians  had  fallen  under  the  Kaffirs'  assegais  whilst  defend- 
ing their  herds.  At  Uitenhagen  suitable  quarters  were  ap- 
pointed, and  the  utmost  kindness  was  experienced  at  the  hands 
of  Colonel  Cuyler.  In  October,  peace  being  concluded,  John 
Peter  Hallbeck,  now  superintendent  of  the  entire  mission,  led 
the  return.  Desolation  marked  the  track  of  the  African  war- 
riors. Blackened  ruins  showed  where  houses  had  once  stood. 
Orchards  and  gardens  had  been  ruthlessly  destroyed.  Yet  it 
was  a  comfort  to  know  that  their  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
Hottentots  were  resolved  to  stand  by  the  missionaries  at  any 
risk  and  with  them  reerect  their  Christian  village. 

About  this  time  another  product  of  Hottentot  diligence  was 
a  standing  refutation  of  the  slander  that  the  Hottentot  was  and 
must  remain  one  of  the  laziest  of  men.  Across  the  Zonderend 
at  Genadendal  under  missionary  supervision,  they  built  by  vol- 
untary labor  a  bridge  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  wide 
enough  for  ox-teams,  and  resting  on  five  massive  piers.  No 
such  structure  existed  in  the  entire  colony,  and  its  completion 
made  a  sensation.  But  efforts  at  improvement  suffered  a  check 
through  a  general  failure  of  the  wheat  harvest  in  1820  and  1821. 
The  price  rose  to  five  times  the  normal  figure.  During  the 
early  part  of  1822  at  Genadendal  alone  three  hundred  recipients 
of  charity  were  on  the  hands  of  Hallbeck.  Fortunately  the 
yield  of  fruit  this  year  was  unusually  large,  Schmidt's  famous 
tree  in  its  old  age  bearing  fifteen  sacks  of  pears. 

In  1823  Michael  Peterleitner  and  his  wife  took  charge  of  a 
hospital  for  lepers  recently  established  by  government  in  a  ro- 
mantic valley  under  the  shadow  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  moun- 
tain not  far  from  the  sea  coast  and  Cape  Town.  Christian  Hot- 
tentots were  amongst  the  earliest  inmates,  and  the  steward  of 
Hemel  en  Aarde,  as  the  place  was  called,  was  a  native  convert, 
the  first  instance  of  one  of  his  people  receiving  a  position  of 
trust  other  than  that  of  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  a  Hotten- 
tot regiment.  Here  the  manifest  blessing  of  God  rested  upon 
the  self-denying  labors  of  the  missionary  couple.  When  their 
teacher  died  suddenly  from  apoplexy,  whilst  in  the  act  of  ad- 


I  10  A    HISTORY    OF 

ministering  baptism  on  Easter  Monday,  1829,  he  was  mourned 
as  a  father.     John  Christian  Tietze  became  his  successor. 

Meantime  in  1824  a  fourth  station  was  begun,  Elim,  about 
forty  miles  southeast  of  Genadendal.  Now  sundry  innuendos 
appeared  in  public  prints  at  Cape  Town,  an  anonymous  writer 
who  shielded  his  personality  under  the  pseudonym  of  "Rusticus" 
alleging  that  the  missionaries  were  not  disinterested  in  their 
efforts  to  promote  the  material  welfare  of  the  natives.  As  so 
often  under  similar  circumstances,  when  the  accused  secured 
an  ofificial  investigation  their  complete  vindication  followed,  and 
with  it  came  an  unqualified  expression  of  the  confidence  of  gov- 
ernment in  their  aims  and  methods.  Indeed,  Lord  Somerset, 
the  Governor,  in  1827  gave  special  publicity  to  his  sympathy. 
On  the  northeast  frontier  a  Tambookie  chieftain  named  Bowana 
had  requested  that  missionaries  be  sent  his  people.  The  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  the  Glasgow  Missionary  Society  and 
the  Wesleyans  liad  ah-eady  founded  missions  in  KafTraria.  Yet 
it  pleased  the  Governor  to  solicit  from  Hallbeck  the  services  of 
the  Moravian  Church.  He  himself,  with  John  Fritsch  and  sev- 
eral natives  undertook  an  exploration  of  Bowana's  territory — 
no  pleasure  jaunt  in  the  cold  of  a  South  x\frican  winter.  On 
June  27  snow-drifts  several  feet  high  had  to  be  passed.  On  the 
night  of  the  29th  Hallbeck's  wagon  stuck  in  the  river  Tarka, 
and  his  wet  clothing  was  frozen  stifif.  Along  the  Oskrall  and 
the  Klippaat  rivers  Bowana  pointed  out  land  eligible  for  a  mis- 
sion. In  February,  1828,  Lemmertz,  Hoffmann  and  Fritsch, 
with  twenty-odd  Hottentots  and  Wilhelmina  Stompjes,  a  Chris- 
tian Tambookie  Kafifir  woman,  set  out  for  permanent  occupa- 
tion of  Shiloh,  as  the  new  station  was  to  be  named.  But  mis- 
sion work  on  the  Klipplaat  had  to  encounter  many  obstacles. 
Bowana  found  objection  after  objection  when  it  came  to  the 
question  of  building,  notwithstanding  his  fine  speeches  of  the 
year  before.  His  Tambookies  were  stolidly  indifferent.  Then 
knavish  Fetkanna  raiders  swooped  down  on  the  cattle.  Locusts 
ravaged  the  gardens.  In  1829  Mapasa,  a  son  of  Bowana,  led 
fifty  armed  men  to  the  mission  with  a  view  to  massacre  the  very 
people  whom  his  father  had  invited.  Had  it  not  been  for  Wil- 
helmina, the  fate  of  the  strangers  had  been  sealed.  She  was  at 
work  helping  her  husband,  the  gardener  of  the  mission,  when 
her  countrymen  marched  in,  bedecked  with  gaudy  crane  feathers 
and  lavishly   smeared  paint.       The  war  dress   told  her  quick 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  Ill 

glance  the  murderous  intent  of  the  young  chief.  Although 
Kaffir  etiquette  expected  silence  on  the  part  of  a  woman  in  an 
assembly  of  men,  she  boldly  pushed  in  amongst  the  gleaming 
assegais,  and  with  all  the  fervid  eloquence  of  a  righteously  indig- 
nant woman  dared  Mapasa  to  his  face.  With  reproaches  for  his 
treachery,  she  energetically  bade  him  begone.  Somewhere  be- 
neath his  war  paint  the  young  African  possessed  a  conscience, 
and  this  conscience  the  honest  fideHty  of  Wilhelmina  touched. 
He  gave  orders  to  withdraw,  and  next  day  sent  an  apology  for 
having  caused  alarm. 

Now  a  change  for  the  better  set  in.  Early  in  the  next  year 
the  baptism  of  the  first  converts  took  place,  one  of  them  the 
future  mother  of  John  Nakin,  hereafter  to  grace  the  record  as 
consecrated  native  minister.  By  December,  1835,  Adolphus 
Bonatz  preached  to  340  Tambookies  in  addition  to  his  162  Hot- 
tentots, and  the  former  could  enjoy  the  Church  Litany  and  the 
history  of  our  Lord's  passion  and  death  in  their  own  tongue. 
Tambookies  stooped  to  agriculture,  and  old  prejudices  were 
breaking  down. 

Meanwhile  at  Genadendal  a  remarkable  revival  of  religion 
blessed  the  year  1833.  When  slavery  was  abolished,  on  Decem- 
ber I,  1834,  the  mission  in  the  Colony  had  reached  a  member- 
ship of  2,386. 

In  all  the  missionaries  of  the  Moravian  Church  now  had 
51,000  souls  in  their  recognized  care. 


112  A   HISTORY   OF 


CHAPTER  XII.  i 


THE   MISSIONS,   FROM    1836  TO    1857. 

Uneven  pulsations  mark  the  onrush  of  the  incoming  tide. 
Here  it  surges  with  a  swirl  and  a  dash ;  there  lapping  wavelets 
almost  imperceptibly  achieve  and  maintain  their  advance.  Not 
every  wave  carries  its  front  of  foam  as  far  as  the  preceding. 
Momentarily  the  appearance  of  retrogression  may  deceive  a 
casual  onlooker.  Nevertheless  all  the  while  in  the  main  and 
all  along  the  entire  Hne  of  the  coast  the  tide  is  steadily  adding 
depth  to  depth;  where  children  were  lately  playing,  the  deep 
laden  barque  may  now  ride  with  even  keel.  Somewhat  similar 
are  the  impressions  received  by  one  who  observes  the  gradual 
advance  of  the  missionary  cause  for  any  considerable  period. 
The  ultimate  gains  become  clear,  even  though  here  and  there 
increase  has  fallen  below  the  general  ratio  or  though  retro- 
gression has  temporarily  characterized  specific  phases  of  opera- 
tion. The  period  now  under  review  illustrates  this  principle. 
On  the  whole  it  was  one  of  marked  advance.  The  forty-four 
stations  of  1836  became  sixty-nine  by  1857,  the  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  missionaries  became  three  hundred.  The  souls 
in  charge  increased  from  51,097  to  71,347.  Yet  in  1840  the  mis- 
sion treasury  was  burdened  with  a  debt  of  $35,000.  Extraor- 
dinary exertions  and  the  liberality  of  friends  resulted  in  its  re- 
moval within  ten  years.  A  mission  had  been  attempted  on  a 
new  continent,  Australia,  and  temporarily  abandoned.  Some 
undertakings  appeared  to  remain  at  a  standstill;  others  had 
gone  forward  with  a  bound. 

In  Greenland  the  hopes  which  led  to  the  founding  of  Fried- 
richsthal,  not  far  from  Cape  Farewell,  had  been  speedily  realized 
through  the  removal  thither  of  heathen  Eskimos  from  the  east 
coast.  By  this  time  comparatively  few  unbaptized  persons 
could  be  found  between  Friedrichsthal  and  New  Herrnhut, 
though  the  roving  life  of  the  Eskimos  in  search  of  a  livelihood 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  II3 

decidedly  interfered  with  their  advance  in  culture.  For  this 
reason  since  the  year  1840  special  attention  had  been  directed 
to  the  founding  of  schools  at  the  fishing  villages.  True,  study 
had  to  be  pursued  among  unfavorable  circumstances,  for  the 
young  men  had  to  go  fishing  or  seal  hunting  in  their  kayaks 
during  the  day,  and  could  give  to  the  instruction  only  the  half- 
attention  of  weariness.  Yet  such  as  it  was,  it  was  appreciated, 
now  that  the  New  Testament  was  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
By  the  close  of  the  present  period  rudimentary  instruction  was 
being  imparted  at  twenty  outposts  in  addition  to  the  four 
schools  at  the  stations. 

Ever  and  again  the  fearful  drawbacks  of  Hfe  on  the  ice- 
mantled,  fog-curtained  desolation,  called  Greenland,  inevitably 
reasserted  themselves.  Seasons  of  scarcity  came,  whose  inten- 
sity was  magnified  by  the  inborn  improvidence  which  Christian 
education  could  only  slowly  eradicate.  Such  a  period  of  dis- 
tress was  the  winter  of  1842  to  1843  ^^  Lichtenau,  where  out  of 
five  hundred  adults  sixty-two  were  carried  ofif  by  an  epidemic 
within  seven  weeks.  The  missionary  in  charge  writes :  ''Owing 
to  absolute  want  of  hands  to  dig  new  graves,  many  of  the 
corpses  had  to  be  deposited  in  old  places  of  sepulture — a  prac- 
tice to  which  the  baptized  Greenlanders  were  unwilling  to  have 
recourse." 

Labrador  likewise  had  its  years  of  leanness,  the  winter  of 
1836  to  1837  being  memorable  for  its  misery,  especially  at  Nain, 
Okak  and  Hebron.  A  famine  raged.  Ordinary  food  com- 
pletely failed.  Tent-coverings  of  skin,  skin-canoes,  and  skin- 
boots  were  masticated  and  swallowed  to  satisfy  the  unappeased 
gnawings  within.  Scurvy  broke  out.  The  missionaries  mean- 
while strained  every  nerve  to  render  help,  and  shared  their  sup- 
plies with  their  people.  When  the  famine  was  relieved,  the 
dearth  of  dogs  rendered  impossible  the  remunerative  pursuit 
of  the  chase  in  the  next  season.  The  condition  of  the  heathen 
in  the  far  north  excelled  in  its  utter  distress.  One  savage  was 
known  to  have  killed  his  wife  and  children,  and  to  have  sup- 
ported his  own  life  by  the  horrible  food  thus  obtained. 

The  new  station  at  Hebron  was  completed  with  the  dedica- 
tion of  its  church  in  October,  1837.  But  much  opposition  had 
to  be  encountered  from  the  heathen,  led  by  an  old  grey  haired 
sorcerer,  Paksaut.  Yet  Mentzel  and  Barsoe  and  Schott  labored 
on  in  hope  against  hope.  What  was  their  surprise,  therefore, 
9 


114  ^    HISTORY    OF 

in  February,  1848,  to  receive  a  visit  from  tu'o  men  as  tlie  ad- 
vance couriers  of  various  families  who  desired  to  remove  from 
Saeglek,  the  headquarters  of  the  opposition,  and  settle  at  Heb- 
ron. By  summer  eighty-one  of  these  benighted  followers  of 
the  sorcerer  had  become  inhabitants  of  the  place,  and  the  old 
sorcerer  himself  being  drawn  into  the  favorable  environment 
before  long  expressed  his  deep  penitence  for  his  former  satanic 
doings,  and  asked  whether  Jesus  would  hear  him  if  he  prayed. 
In  February,  1850,  the  baptism  of  this  erstwhile  renowned 
"angekok"  and  that  of  his  wife,  after  a  long  and  thorough  pro- 
bation, made  a  deep  impression  as  a  triumph  of  grace. 

In  Labrador  and  the  adjacent  Arctic  lands  attempts  were 
now  made  at  extensions  of  missionary  activity,  though  no  sta- 
tion was  actually  founded.  In  1847  Captain  Parker,  of  the 
Truelove,  a  whaler  from  Hull,  visited  Northumberland  Inlet, 
west  of  Cumberland  Island.  The  shores  of  this  bay  and  the 
numerous  islands  which  studded  it  he  found  well  peopled  by 
Eskimos — at  this  time  suffering  from  famine.  Captain  Parker 
at  their  own  soHcitations  took  an  Eskimo  couple  to  England, 
and  there  they  excited  much  interest.  The  owner  and  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Truelove  urged  on  the  Moravian  Church  the  plant- 
ing of  a  mission  on  Northumberland  Inlet.  The  negotiations 
resulted  in  an  agreement,  that  when  Captain  Parker  returned 
his  Eskimos  to  their  home  together  with  the  supplies  of  food 
furnished  by  British  beneficence,  he  should  touch  at  Greenland 
on  the  way,  and  take  with  him  Samuel  Kleinschmidt  for  the 
commencing  of  a  mission.  But  tlie'ice-barrier  at  Upernavik 
and  the  death  of  the  Eskimo  woman  from  consumption  with 
the  unwillingness  of  her  husband  to  proceed  to  their  former 
home  rendered  the  project  a  failure. 

During  the  winter  of  1856  to  1857  Augustus  F.  Eisner  of 
Hopedale  performed  a  very  trying  sleigh  journey  south-west 
to  Eskimo  Bay,  a  settlement  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
near  the  great  inlet  of  Ivuktoke,  to  ascertain  if  some  method 
of  permanently  ministering  to  the  sparse  settlements  could  be 
inaugurated.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  desirous  of 
the  estabHshment  of  a  mission,  and  had  extended  an  invitation. 
The  adventurous  party  was  one  of  five.  A  ten  days'  journey 
by  dog-sled  and  snow-shoe  brought  them  to  Rigolette,  the 
headquarters  of  the  Company.  Their  report  was  unfavorable. 
In  a  district  about  one  hundred  and  fift}'  miles  in  length  only 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS,  II  5 

twenty-one  fisher  families  were  to  be  found.     These  with  ten 
families  of  Eskimos  constituted  the  entire  population. 

In  June,  1857,  Matthew  Warmow  of  Lichtenfels  accompanied 
Captain  Perry  in  the  Lady  Franklin  to  Cumberland  Inlet,  and 
conversed  with  and  preached  to  the  people  at  various  points, 
whilst  he  spied  out  the  land. 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  voyage  of  John  Augustus 
Mientsching;!^  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  Labrador,  who  was 
engaged  as  interpreter  for  the  expedition  fitted  out  in  1850  by 
the  British  Government  to  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin,  one 
of  the  fifteen  expeditions  sent  out  by  Britain  and  America  to 
rescue  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  ill-fated  Erebus  and  Terror. 
On  the  Investigator  JMiertsching  sailed  from  England  in  Janu- 
ary, 1850,  and  passed  the  winter  of  1850  to  185 1  at  the  Princess 
Royal  Islands,  only  thirty  miles  from  Barrow  Strait.  A  north- 
west passage  was  discovered,  but  could  not  be  reached  owing 
to  a  branch  of  the  paleo-crystic  ice  that  barred  the  way.  As 
soon  as  possible  in  185 1  Captain  McClure  turned  his  ship  south, 
and  rounding  Baring  Island  wintered  next  on  the  northern 
shore  of  Bank's  Land  in  the  "Bay  of  God's  ]Mercy,"  musk-oxen 
affording  food.  In  April,  1853,  the  time  had  been  appointed 
for  abandoning  the  ship,  so  as  to  reach  the  American  continent 
over  the  ice,  when  three  days  previous  to  the  set  date  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Resolute  and  the  Intrepid  became  known.  On  ]\Iay 
2  the  weary  company  were  received  on  board  the  rescuing  ves- 
sels. For  two  years  their  daily  allowance  had  been  two-thirds 
of  the  regulation  rations.  Captain  Kellett  of  the  Resolute 
showed  Miertsching  distinguished  kindness.  His  services  as 
interpreter  had  been  invaluable,  and  he  had  contributed  no  little 
part  to  the  efforts  of  the  officers  to  systematically  provide  in- 
struction and  amusement  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  melancholy 
dreariness  of  the  long  Arctic  nights.  As  a  missionary  explora- 
tory tour  the  long  voyage,  ending  in  October,  1854,  was  with- 
out permanent  results. 

In  the  Danish  West  Indies  this  was  a  time  of  transition. 
The  connection  of  the  missions  with  trade  for  the  support  of  the 
work  was  gradually  ceasing.  The  Creole  patois  step  by  step 
gave  place  to  the  English.  A  system  of  education  was  being 
inaugurated  by  government,  with  a  view  to  prepare  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves,  rendered  inevitable  by  Britain's  cx- 
am.ple.      In  the  year  1839  Governor  General  Van  Scholten,  at 


Il6  A    HISTORY   OF 

the  instance  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  paid  a  visit  to  Herrnhiit, 
and  laying  before  the  authorities  of  the  church  his  plan  for  the 
inception  of  elementary  schools,  proposed  that  a  commence- 
ment be  made  on  the  island  of  St.  Croix,  and  that  the  teachers 
be  supplied  by  the  mission,  whilst  the  government  would  erect 
the  buildings  and  render  financial  aid.  It  seemed  a  providential 
call.  Accordingly  in  1840  Bishop  Breutel  was  dispatched  to 
confer  prehminarily  with  the  missionaries  and  arrange  neces- 
sary details.  Eight  schools  were  soon  built,  each  to  accommo- 
date from  one  hundrd  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  children.  With 
considerable  ceremony  the  first  was  opened  on  May  18,  1841, 
on  Great  Princess  Plantation,  near  the  grave  of  Frederick  Mar- 
tin, the  governor  and  other  civil  authorities  lending  the  encour- 
agement of  their  presence.  Teachers  were  at  first  secured 
from  among  members  of  the  church  trained  in  the  normal 
schools  of  the  Mico  Charity.  In  1847  the  new  school  system 
was  extended  to  St.  Thomas,  having  previously  been  inaugu- 
rated in  the  smaller  island  of  St.  John. 

On  September  18,  1847,  King  Christian  VIII  issued  a  decree 
emancipating  all  who  should  be  henceforth  born  of  slave  par- 
entage in  his  West  Indian  colonies,  and  providing  for  the  ces- 
sation of  all  slavery  at  the  end  of  twelve  years.  Instead  of 
calming  discontent,  this  proclamation  rendered  the  negro  popu- 
lation only  the  more  eager  to  anticipate  the  joys  of  freedom,  and 
in  a  quiet  but  determined  and  very  thorough  manner  a  slave 
insurrection  was  planned.  Alarming  reports  became  current 
on  July  2,  1848,  and  after  dark  the  ringing  of  bells  and  the 
blowing  of  conch  shells  throughout  the  island  of  St.  Croix  made 
the  white  population  aware  that  something  unusual  was  immi- 
nent. Early  the  next  morning  the  plundering  and  rioting  com- 
menced. That  same  day  the  Governor  General  issued  a  procla- 
mation of  emancipation.  This  did  not  at  once  pacify  the  riot- 
ers— especially  at  the  east  end  of  the  island,  where  a  clash 
of  arms  occurred  and  bloodshed  preceded  the  restoration  of 
order.  After  the  insurrection  had  been  quelled,  the  Governor 
General  was  tried  on  the  charge  of  dereliction  in  duty  and 
condemned ;  but  on  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Den- 
mark an  honorable  acquittal  followed.  Buddhoe,  or  "Gen- 
eral Bourdeaux,"  the  leader  of  the  insurgents,  was  captured 
and  exiled  to  Port  of  Spain,  Trinidad,  with  the  understanding 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  II 7 

that  his  Hie  should  be  forfeited  if  he  returned  to  the  Danish 
islands. 

Whilst  the  skies  were  reddened  bv  the  flames  of  burnine 
plantations  the  missionaries  did  their  utmost  to  restrain  the 
rioters  from  violence.  For  weeks  the  attitude  of  the  negroes 
remained  threatening,  and  grave  trouble  was  anticipated  on 
October  i,  the  day  set  for  adjusting  wages.  Then  in  particular 
the  good  offices  of  the  Brethren  proved  of  peculiar  service.  As 
the  years  passed  the  fruit  of  their  efforts  appeared  in  growing 
congregations  requiring  new  and  larger  churches  at  each  of  the 
three  stations  prior  to  1854. 

In  St.  Thomas,  Eugene  Hartvig  removed  from  Nisky  to  the 
town  in  1843,  to  promote  educational  work  and  care  for  the 
members  residing  there.  Thus  a  congregation  was  gradu- 
ally formed,  which  increased  in  importance  as  the  character  of 
the  island  began  to  change  after  emancipation.  Plantations 
were  abandoned,  but  the  town  of  St.  Thomas  gained  from  the 
splendid  facilities  offered  by  its   magnificent  harbor. 

In  the  British  islands  the  work  of  grace  coincident  with  eman- 
cipation continued.  Energetic  efforts  were  put  forth  to  cope 
with  the  problem  of  education.  In  1837  Charles  James  La 
Trobe  was  sent  out  to  inspect  the  schools  at  the  instance  of 
the  British  government,  and  as  a  result  funds  for  the  erection 
of  the  needed  buildings  and  for  the  maintenance  of  teachers 
began  to  be  gathered  in  England,  and  parliamentary  grants  sup- 
plemented private  beneficence.  In  1837  Jacob  Zorn,  the  able 
superintendent  of  the  mission,  founded  a  normal  school  at  Fair- 
field, and  ten  years  later  a  similar  institution  was  begun  at 
Cedar  Hall  in  Antigua  for  the  eastern  islands,  in  charge  of 
Alan  Hamilton.  In  1854  a  training  institution  for  female  teach- 
ers was  Hkewise  established  at  St.  John's  in  Antigua,  for  female 
teachers,  its  founder  being  George  Wall  Westerbv. 

Jamaica  presented  a  spectacle  of  rapid  advance.  The  con- 
secration of  churches  at  new  stations  became  the  order  of  the 
day,  Bethany  (begun  in  1835)  being  followed  by  Beaufort, 
■Nazareth  and  Xew-Hope  (now  Salem)  in  1838,  Lititz  in  1839, 
and  Bethabara  in  1840.  It  was  in  fact  impossible  to  make  use 
of  all  the  opportunities  for  new  work.  Yet  trials  were  not  ab- 
sent;  the  more  intense  the  light,  the  deeper  the  shadows.  In 
1842  a  perplexing  phenomenon  appeared  in  several  parishes  of 
the  island,  an  outburst  of  one  of  those  periodic  stirrings  of  the 


Il8  A   HISTORY    OF 

deeply  emotional  nature  of  the  negro  peoples,  that  are  to  be 
observed  from  time  to  time.  This  was  the  organization  of  a 
counter-infatuation,  MyaHsm,  over  against  the  ancient  Obeah- 
ism,  that  dark  heritage  received  from  their  African  fathers.  It 
proclaimed  its  purpose  to  be  the  cleansing  of  the  world  from 
wickedness  through  the  possession  of  power  to  discriminate 
between  good  and  evil  men,  and  it  sought  the  overthrow  of  the 
Obeah.  The  leaders  of  this  satanic  craze  seemed  to  be  veri- 
tably possessed;  and  for  a  time  there  appeared  to  be  a  danger 
of  wholesale  lapses  into  heathenism.  John  Henry  Buchner 
writes :  "The  mark  and  sign  of  these  people,  who  are  called 
Myal-men,  is  a  handkerchief  tied  quite  fast  around  the  waist, 
and  another  tied  in  a  fantastical  manner  around  the  head.  I 
have  seen  and  spoken  to  several  of  them  whom  I  have  known 
before ;  but  I  should  hardly  have  recognized  them,  their  features 
being  distorted,  their  eyes  wild;  in  fact  they  had  the  appear- 
ance of  people  who  are  quite  frantic.  They  are  bold  and  dar- 
ing, and  there  is  no  reasoning  with  them.  This  madness  com- 
menced on  an  estate  where  several  of  the  late  Guinea  negroes 
were  located,  and  now  has  spread  over  the  whole  parish  where 
hundreds  are  now  practicing  this  MyaHsm.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances many  breaches  of  the  peace  have  been  committed: 
more  than  one  hundred  cases  have  been  tried,  and  the  jail  is 
filled  with  these  people.  Though  they  have  threatened  us,  they 
have  not  yet  come  to  disturb  the  services  in  our  chapel;  but 
they  have  molested  other  places  of  worship,  and  we  are  in  con- 
stant dread  of  their  approach.  Every  night  the  howling  and 
singing  of  the  votaries  of  Myalism  reach  my  ear Supersti- 
tion is  deeply,  very  deeply,  rooted  in  a  negro's  mind;  and  it  was 
distressing  to  see  that  so  many  believed  in  their  doings  as  if 
they  were  from  God,  and  that  it  was  so  difficult  to  persuade 
them  that  it  was  Satan's  work One  old  communicant  sis- 
ter, of  Williamsfield,  now  feeble  in  body  and  mind,  was  per- 
suaded by  the  Myal  people  that  the  shadow  (soul)  of  her  de- 
parted daughter  had  no  rest,  but  was  upon  a  cotton  tree  in  the 
pasture.  They  directed  her  to  procure  a  little  coffin,  covered 
with  black  merino,  when  upon  a  Saturday  night  they  all,  about 
twenty,  went  out  with  her  to  this  cotton  tree.  A  firefly  upon 
the  tree  was  to  be  the  'shadow.'  After  singing  and  dancing 
for  some  hours  around  the  tree,  they  pretended  to  have  caught 
the  shadow,  whereupon  they  closed  the  coffin  and  buried  it. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 19 

On  a  former  occasion  a  white  fowl  had  been  sacrificed  to  the 
'shadow'  under  the  cotton  tree,  the  tree  and  coffin  sprinkled 
with  its  blood ;  and  the  same  was  that  night  repeated."  Piti- 
fully ludicrous  though  these  proceedings  may  appear,  this  gro- 
tesque superstition  worked  much  trouble,  till  from  the  very 
excess  of  its  own  intensity  a  revulsion  of  feeling  set  in,  and  by 
the  close  of  1844  the  manifestations  became  infrequent.  But 
belief  in  witchcraft  and  in  the  Obeah  by  no  means  died  out. 

The  mission  was  greatly  hampered  about  this  time  by  the 
severe  sickness  of  a  number  of  useful  workers,  and  death 
thinned  the  ranks.  Seven  fell  from  fevers  or  similar  causes 
within  a  couple  of  years.  A  special  loss  was  sustained  when 
Jacob  Zorn,  the  energetic  superintendent,  died  in  1843.  Born 
of  missionary  parents,  and  enthused  with  the  true  missionary 
spirit,  wholly  consecrated  to  his  work,  "a  mian  of  abundant 
grace  and  excellent  gifts,  humble,  affectionate  and  discreet,  yet 
talented,  laborious  and  energetic,"  he  seemed  to  have  been 
stopped  in  mid-course,  being  not  quite  forty  years  of  age.  But 
to  him  was  given  the  joy  of  seeing  his  labors  crowned,  and  of 
perceiving  the  mission  emerge  out  of  many  embarrassments 
into  strength  and  vigor. 

The  official  visit  of  Bishop  Hermann  and  William  Mallalieu 
in  1847  l^d  to  a  reconstruction  of  the  arrangements  for  the 
supervision  of  the  work  on  the  island.  Conferential  govern- 
ment was  now  introduced,  Rudolph  Wullschlaegel  as  superin- 
tendent having  associated  with  him  Pfeiflfer,  Spence,  Renke- 
witz  and  Buchner.  But  two  years  later  Wullschlaegel  was 
transferred  to  Surinam,  and  Buchner  took  his  place.  In  1852 
the  sudden  death  of  James  Spence,  a  loss  reminding  of  that  of 
Zorn,  caused  the  transfer  of  Jacob  Seller  from  Antigua. 

In  1850  a  time  of  severest  test  had  to  be  endured.  The 
cholera  swept  through  the  island,  and  death  cut  a  broad  swath. 
Twenty  thousand  persons  are  thought  to  have  perished.  New 
Fulneck  and  Irwin  Hill  suffered  most,  the  latter  losing  one- 
fifth  of  its  members.  Here  Abraham  Lichtenthaler  was  the 
indefatigable  missionary.  ^Moreover,  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  the  coffee  and  sugar  crops  ruin  spread  through  the 
land.  Many  estates  were  abandoned.  The  laboring  classes 
had  to  shift  for  themselves.  Poverty  crippled  and  idleness  in- 
terfered with  the  growth  of  honorable  qualities,  the  while 
various  vices  were  engendered.     Yet  with  it  all  the  work  of  the 


120  A   HISTORY   OF 

mission  was  steadily  prosecuted.  When  the  centenary  was 
celebrated  in  1854  the  total  membership  was  12,794,  as  com- 
pared with  8,591  in  1836. 

In  Antigua  also  stations  multiplied  after  emancipation ;  Leba- 
non (1837),  Gracefield  (1840),  Five  Islands  (1838)  and  Gracebay 
(1848)  each  serving  to  relieve  the  overgrown  congregation  at 
St.  John's,  which  at  one  time  had  a  mem.bership  of  upwards  of 
seven  thousand. 

In  the  early  months  of  1843  repeated  shocks  of  earthquake 
wrought  havoc  at  various  posts,  the  very  heaviest  being  on  Feb- 
ruary 8,  when  churches,  schools,  mills,  sugar-works  and  all 
kinds  of  stone  buildings  were  thrown  down  or  wrecked.  It  was 
the  most  severe  calamity  that  had  transpired  on  these  islands 
within  the  memory  of  man.  In  some  villages  scarcely  a  house 
was  left  standing.  The  south  gable  of  Lebanon  church  was 
thrown  down.  Here  and  there  the  earth  was  full  of  great 
cracks,  from  which  oozed  a  thick  and  slimy  water,  smelling 
strongly  of  sulphur.  For  weeks  the  services  had  to  be  held  in 
the  open  air.  On  the  morning  of  Good  Friday  repeated  shocks 
drove  the  missionary  and  his  people  out  of  the  church  at  Beth- 
esda,  St.  Kitts,  the  building  rocking  like  a  ship.  Again  in 
August,  1848,  a  terrific  hurricane  raged  on  the  islands  of  St. 
Kitts,  St.  Croix  and  Tobago,  as  well  as  on  Antigua.  St.  John's, 
Lebanon,  Gracehill  and  Cedar  Hall  were  the  chief  sufferers. 
At  Gracehill  the  loss  was  estimated  at  $6,500,  at  Cedar  Hall 
from  $3,500  to  $4,000.  The  training  school  was  completely  de- 
molished. The  mission  dwelling  nearby  resembled  a  dis- 
mantled hulk.  Beams  and  furniture,  clothing  and  books  were 
strewn  around  the  fields  like  stubble  for  a  distance  of  400  to  500 
yards.  During  the  night,  whilst  the  lightning  blazed  and  the 
thunder  boomed  and  crashed,  the  howling  wind  had  made  sport 
with  lumber  and  roofing,  chicken-coops,  grind-stones,  drip- 
stones and  the  like;  and  the  fearful  artillery  of  the  elements 
had  driven  the  mission  family  with  the  scholars  to  the  cellar  as 
a  last  place  of  refuge.  All  out-buildings  and  fences  had  been 
swept  away,  and  the  gardens  were  ruined. 

Throughout  the  greater  part  of  these  years  (his  term  of  office 
commencing  in  1844  was  destined  to  continue  till  1872)  the 
superintendent  in  Antigua  was  the  energetic  and  far-seeing 
George  Wall  Westerby,  who  was  consecrated  a  bishop  whilst 
on  a  visit  to  England  by  Bishops  Seiflferth  and  Rogers  at  Ock- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  121 

brook  on  July  5,  1853.  On  January  3,  1856,  the  ordination  of 
John  Buckley  as  a  deacon  at  St.  John's  by  Bishop  Westerby 
marked  an  important  step  in  the  direction  of  West  Indian 
development,  for  with  him  began  the  line  of  Moravian  ministers 
of  African  blood. 

St.  Kitts  in  1845  rejoiced  in  the  founding  of  a  fourth  station, 
Estridge,  the  Brethren  Ricksecker  and  Klose  being  specially 
active  in  this  undertaking. 

In  Barbados,  though  Clifton  Hill  was  begun  in  1839,  the  num- 
bers remained  apparently  stationary.  Then  in  1854  the  cholera 
carried  away  one-seventh  of  the  population.  More  than  twelve 
thousand  persons  met  with  sudden  death  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  Sharon  and  Bridgetown  suffering  most  among  the  mis- 
sion stations.  In  Bridgetown  for  a  time  the  burials  averaged 
three  hundred  a  day.  Drought  accompanying  the  pest,  pro- 
visions were  dear,  and  the  misery,  especially  of  the  orphaned, 
was  pitiful  in  the  extreme,  making  incalculable  demands  on  the 
good  offices  of  the  missionaries.  At  one  time,  too,  riots  added 
'to  the  unparalleled  distress. 

At  length  the  day  dawned  for  the  mission  on  the  beautiful 
island  of  Tobago,  though  large  numbers  could  not  be  looked 
ior,  the  population  being  comparatively  thin.  And  this  was  in 
spite  of  the  frequent  changes  in  the  missionary  force  demanded 
by  the  treacherous  cUmate  of  the  beautiful  island.  True,  To- 
bago escaped  trials  as  little  as  other  places.  On  September  11, 
1847,  Montgomery  was  wrecked  by  a  hurricane,  the  lives  of 
Prince  and  his  wife,  the  missionaries,  being  spared  as  by  a 
miracle.  He  pictures  the  scene  of  desolation  thus:  "When 
our  limbs,  stifT  with  the  cold  of  that  dreadful  night,  bore  us 
tremblingly  forth  from  the  ark  of  refuge,  what  a  scene  met  our 
gaze!  The  cocoanut  trees  had  their  graceful  branches  either 
twisted  oflf  or  dangling  down  the  trunks ;  those  trees  which  are 
of  a  tougher  texture  showed  the  stumps  of  the  branches  dis- 
playing white  clusters  of  splinters,  the  more  brittle  of  them 
snapped  short  of¥.  Spouts,  rails,  beams  and  shingles  were 
heaped  in  confusion.  The  negro  houses  were  a  heap  of  ruins ; 
the  school,  flat  on  the  ground,  and  sliding  far  down  the  gully; 
the  church,  with  the  north  side  stove  in,  the  roof  down,  and  an 
avalanche  of  benches,  beams,  rafters,  etc.,  protruding  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  through  the  rent  on  the  north  side.  Our 
dwelling  rooms  were  deluged— beds,  books,  clothes  and  papers 


122  A   HISTORY   OF 

were  wetted  and  blown  together  in  inextricable  confusion 

The  crops  of  cane  and  provisions,  so  smiling  the  day  before^ 
were  all  destroyed."  Moriah  on  the  other  hand  had  been  but 
little  injured. 

In  Surinam  two  obstacles  had  still  to  be  encountered,  the 
first  inevitable — the  fever-breeding  climate  entailing  terrible 
mortality — the  second  about  to  be  removed — slavery  and  its 
attendant  evils.  In  Paramaribo  and  on  the  plantations  alike^ 
the  sacredness  of  marriage  among  the  slaves  was  not  regarded 
by  their  owners.  Any  negro  husband  might  be  sold  away  from 
his  wife  and  family.  Again  the  education  of  the  slaves  was 
rather  dreaded  than  encouraged,  even  such  rudimentary 
knowledge  as  would  serve  for  spelling  the  way  through  the 
Bible.  The  number  of  plantations  to  be  visited,  so  long  as  the 
slaves  were  tied  to  the  soil,  involved  most  exhausting  voyages 
in  the  narrow  dug-out  canoes,  and  at  best  the  instruction  could 
be  imparted  only  at  intervals.  No  wonder  that  a  people  barely 
above  the  fetishism  of  Africa  made  very  slow  advances  in  Chris- 
tian culture  and  higher  Hfe.  Sometimes  the  secret  hostility  of 
overseers  found  pretexts  for  hindering  the  visit  to  his  planta- 
tion ;  it  was  the  season  of  full  creeks,  perhaps — then  the  blacks 
could  be  given  no  leisure,  being  all  needed  to  float  timber  to 
market,  or  to  work  the  mills  that  crushed  the  canes. 

Nevertheless  the  mission  made  marvellously  rapid  strides. 
Station  was  added  to  station — Worsteling  Jacobs  in  1838,  but 
again  abandoned  in  1843  owing  to  its  unsuitable  situation; 
Salem  in  the  Coronie  district,  in  1840;  Beekhuizen,  near  Para- 
maribo, in  1843 ;  Rust-en-Werk,  on  the  lower  Comewyne,  in 
1844;  LiHendal,  on  the  same  river,  becoming  an  independent 
station  with  the  consecration  of  its  church  in  1848;  Annaszorg, 
an  abandoned  plantation  purchased  for  the  church  as  a  center 
of  operations  among  the  plantations  on  the  Warappa  and  Mat- 
appica  creeks,  in  1853;  Catharina  Sophia,  on  the  Saramacca,  in 
1855 ;  Heerendyk,  the  abandoned  plantation  Nut-en-Schadelyk, 
in  1856,  a  relief  to  Charlottenburg.  The  congregation  in  Para- 
maribo grew  remarkably — 5,502  by  the  middle  of  1856.  The 
total  membership  increased  from  3,795  in  1836  to  23,316  in  1857. 
All  honor  to  the  faithful  workers,  and  to  the  able  men  in  suc- 
cession charged  with  the  administration  of  affairs — Rudolph 
Fassavant,  Otto  Tank,  Henry  Rudolph  Wullschlaegel  and 
Theopilus  van  Calker. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  23 

In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  slave  owners  to  the  education 
of  the  blacks,  schools  were  not  only  commenced  on  a  nmnber 
oi  stations,  but  in  1844  Gottlieb  Wiinsche  of  Rust-en-Werk 
made  a  first  attempt  to  train  negro  lads  with  a  view  to  their 
becoming  teachers  of  their  own  people;  and  in  1851  a  normal 
school  was  successfully  founded  at  Beekhuizen,  in  charge  of 
Herman  Voss,  and  after  his  early  death,  under  Gustavus  Ber- 
thold.  The  students  were  young  slaves  sent  by  planters  who 
were  favorably  disposed.  Beginning  with  the  year  1856  a  new 
sphere  of  usefulness  was  also  entered  upon.  Government  then 
assigned  to  the  IMoravian  Church  the  spiritual  care  of  the  non- 
Catholic  inmates  of  the  hospital  for  lepers  at  Batavia  on  the 
Copename,  and  Theodore  Dobler  was  assigned  the  duties  of 
chaplain,  with  a  faithful  native  "helper"  Jacques  as  his  assistant. 

Although  it  had  been  impossible  for  several  decades  to  supply 
the  little  congregation  at  New  Bambey  in  the  Bush  country 
with  a  missionary,  intercourse  with  Paramaribo  had  been  main- 
tained by  the  few  surviving  converts.  Between  1830  and  1840 
repeated  visits  were  also  made  to  them  by  John  Henry  Voigt, 
who  found  the  sons  of  chief  Arabi  anxious  for  a  renewal  of  fixed 
operations  among  their  people.  Jacobs  and  Rasmus  Schmidt 
followed  his  example  in  1838  and  1840.  Thus  encouraged,  the 
remnant  of  the  Bush  negro  congregation  built  a  church  and 
mission  house — light  structures  with  wattled  walls  and  roofs 
of  palm  thatch.  Hither  Schmidt  and  his  wife  came  just  before 
tlie  Christmas  festival  of  1840.  The  sons  of  Arabi,  Job  and 
John,  stood  by  them  loyally,  but  the  determined  attitude  of  the 
heathen  element  manifested  fixed  hostility.  Once  a  heathen 
woman  rushed  on  Schmidt  with  a  drawn  knife,  but  was  fortu- 
nately disarmed  in  time.  Fever  before  long  did  what  threats 
and  dangers  could  not  accomplish.  Schmidt  died  on  April  12,. 
1845.  His  wife  for  a  tim.e  maintained  the  post  alone.  Next 
year  John  Godfrey  Meissner,  coming  out  from  Europe,  married 
her,  but  the  fatal  climate  claimed  him  as  a  victim  in  three  years. 
Then  Mads  Barsoe  and  his  wife  came  to  the  relief  of  the  heroic 
woman  twice  a  widow.  But  he  also  speedily  succumbed.  In 
the  emergency  another  noble  woman  caught  up  the  falling 
standard,  and  planted  it  firmly,  the  widow  ]\Iary  Hartmann. 
She  had  come  to  Surinam  in  1826,  about  twenty-nine  years  of 
age,  with  her  husband,  John  Gottlieb,  and  with  him  had  served 
in  Paramaribo  and  at  Charlottenburg  till  he  was  called  to  his 


124  A   HISTORY   OF 

eternal  rest  in  1844.  In  1848  she  volunteered  to  go  alone  to 
Berg-en-dal,  on  the  Upper  Surinam,  where  a  small  congrega- 
tion had  formerly  been  gathered,  but  which  had  diminished 
owing  to  the  unavoidable  removal  of  the  missionaries.  Here 
she  had  ministered,  teaching  the  children  and  doing  the  work 
of  a  prophetess  amongst  the  adults.  Occasionally  she  had 
ventured  on  journeys  to  the  Bush  country,  though  no  more  proof 
against  fevers  than  any  other  European,  bodily  infirmity  at 
length  becoming  her  cross.  Nevertheless  after  the  repeated 
deaths  at  Bambey  the  desolate  condition  of  the  few  Christians 
there  appealed  to  her,  and  she  removed  thither  alone,  thus  cut- 
ting herself  ofif  from  intercourse  with  her  fellow  countrymen. 
Year  after  year  this  soHtary  white  woman  lived  on  in  the  land 
of  savage  blacks,  and  alligators  and  snakes  and  venomous 
spiders  and  noxious  vermin,  breathing  the  heavy  steaming  air 
of  the  swamps.  Only  once  and  for  one  single  day  during  the 
ensuing  four  years  did  she  visit  her  brethren  and  sisters  at  Para- 
maribo, restricting  her  visit  in  this  manner  from  the  fear  lest  by 
reason  of  attachment  to  her  fellow  workers  she  might  be  made 
less  willing  to  go  back  to  the  poor  negroes  of  the  wilderness. 
Testimony  to  the  success  which  crowned  her  self-immolation  is 
thus  borne  by  a  German  commissioner  sent  to  inquire  into  the 
condition  of  Surinam  at  this  period :  "Our  worthy  hostess  was 
one  of  the  rare  characters  of  the  present  age.  With  the 
patience  of  a  saint  she  labored  in  the  midst  of  these  people, 
imparting  religious  instruction,  and  keeping  alive  the  spark  of 
religious  life,  which  so  easily  becomes  extinct The  con- 
gregation she  instructed  in  the  church,  the  children  she  taught 

in  her  own  dwelling  to  read  and  write Bambey  may  well 

be  called  a  Christian  village  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness  of 
heathenism.  The  peace  and  quiet,  which  was  not  interrupted 
by  any  dancing  and  its  attendant  horrible  yelling,  together  with 
the  neat  and  cleanly  appearance  of  the  settlement,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  about  one  hundred  in  number  were  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  earthenware  goods,  cotton-weaving,  and  the 
shaping  of  coryars,  made  a  pleasing  impression  upon  us." 

But  on  December  30,  1853,  this  heroine  was  overcome  by  the 
hardships  of  her  situation,  having  been  brought  to  Paramaribo 
just  in  time  to  bid  her  fellow  missionaries  farewell.  Previous 
to  this  her  little  congregation  removed  from  Bambey  to  Coflfy- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  12$ 

camp,  near  where  the  Sara  creek  empties  into  the  Surinam, 
on  account  of  the  more  healthy  site. 

In  South  Africa  Genadendal  was  prospering.  Its  business 
enterprises  flourished.  The  cutlery  had  to  be  enlarged  to  meet 
the  growing  demand  for  its  products.  Smiths,  carpenters, 
masons,  wagon-makers  and  tanners  drove  a  brisk  trade.  Dis- 
tant Shiloh  also  advanced  in  externals.  Fritsch  and  Bonatz 
undertook  the  erection  of  a  grist-mill,  the  latter  shaping  the 
mill-stones  with  the  labor  of  his  own  hands  out  of  materials 
furnished  by  the  hard  sand-stone  of  the  Klipplaat.  The  aston- 
ishment of  the  Kaffirs  was  boundless,  when  it  was  set  in  mo- 
tion in  1838,  the  first  mill  in  the  entire  region.  Here  a  smithy 
was  also  established.  Only  Enon  suffered  a  retrogression. 
Owing  to  repeated  seasons  of  drought  the  Zondag  ceased  to 
flow.  Irrigation  became  impossible.  Gardens  and  fields  ceased 
to  be  productive.  The  very  trees,  the  distinguishing  ornament 
of  the  place,  began  to  perish.  The  necessaries  of  life  became 
scanty.  Water  at  last  could  be  procured  only  by  digging  in  the 
"Zeekoegats,"  the  low  pools  in  the  bed  of  the  river — "pools  of 
the  hippopotamus"  as  the  natives  called  them.  Remunerative 
labor  could  not  be  procured  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  mi- 
gration to  more  favored  spots  set  in.  Providentially  rains  were 
sent  before  the  station  had  to  be  abandoned;  but  for  many 
years  the  effects  of  this  drought  continued  to  be  felt. 

Emancipation  went  into  effect  throughout  this  colony  on  De- 
cember I,  1838.  It  affected  about  35,000  souls.  Partly  in  an- 
ticipation of  this  measure,  on  November  i,  1838,  the  corner- 
stone of  a  normal  school  for  Hottentots,  a  building  seventy- 
four  by  twenty-three  feet  and  two  stories  in  height,  had  been 
laid.  Next  year  it  was  opened  with  nine  pupils,  Theodore  Kiis- 
ter  having  immediate  charge.  Before  long  candidates  for 
teacherships  and  for  the  ministry  were  entrusted  by  other  mis- 
sionary bodies  also  to  the  care  of  this  seminary.  As  in  the 
West  Indies,  the  church  gained  large  accessions  after  emanci- 
pation. At  Genadendal  alone  four  hundred  and  fifty  were  re- 
received  within  one  year,  after  each  case  had  been  carefully  de- 
cided on  its  own  merits. 

During  the  season  preceding  emancipation  government  had 
urged  the  establishment  of  a  new  station.  About  sixty  miles 
west  by  south  of  Enon  and  north  of  Cape  St.  Franciscus  a  tribe 
of  fugitive   Kaffirs  had   taken   refuge   along  the   Zitzikamma, 


126  A   HISTORY   OF 

under  the  protection  of  the  colonial  government.  Originally 
occupying  land  northeast  of  the  country  of  the  Tambookies, 
they  had  been  expelled  by  the  more  warUke  Fetkannas,  when 
these  in  their  turn  had  fled  before  the  renowned  Zulu  chief,' 
Chaka — hence  the  name  Fingoos,  "vagrants,"  given  them  by 
fellow  Africans.  Agreeably  to  the  request  of  the  civil  authori- 
ties, Halter  and  Kiister  and  Neuhaus  in  1839  made  their  way 
to  the  Zitzikamma.  Speedy  returns  justified  the  project. 
Within  half  a  year  a  Httle  village  clustered  around  the  mission, 
and  young  and  old  swarmed  to  the  services  from  the  neighbor- 
ing kraals.  A  great  awakening  marked  the  spring  of  1840. 
Governor  Napier,  who  was  deeply  interested  in  the  new  station, 
selected  for  it  the  name  of  Clarkson,  in  honor  of  the  distin- 
guished advocate  of  freedom. 

But  now  like  a  bolt  from  a  clear  sky,  the  sudden  death  of 
Bishop  Hallbeck  shocked  the  mission  and  its  friends.  He  died 
•on  November  25,  1840,  fifty-seven  years  of  age.  When  he 
cam.e  to  the  Cape,  in  1817,  the  mission  embraced  only  two  sta- 
tions with  about  1,600  souls;  now  seven  with  a  native  member- 
ship of  nearly  4,500.  "In  him  a  powerful  mind  was  united  with 
an  affectionate  spirit ;  a  capacity  for  generalization,  with  a  readi- 
ness to  enter  into  the  smallest  details ;  great  ability  in  direction, 
with  surprising  facihty  of  execution ;  originality  of  thought, 
with  sterling  sense  and  a  decided  preference  for  whatever  was 
practical  and  useful.  His  plans  were  ordinarily  marked  by 
sotmd  judgment,  though  his  temper  was  naturally  arduous  and 
impetuous ;  and  in  the  transaction  of  business  he  exhibited  un- 
common regularity,  energy  and  despatch.  No  Hottentot  or 
enfranchised  slave  found  him  otherwise  than  ready  to  give  him 
counsel  in  temporal,  as  well  as  instruction  in  spiritual  things. 
Though  by  no  means  an  eloquent  preacher,  his  discourses  were 
Scriptural  and  experimental,  delivered  with  great  warmth  of 
heart,  and  accompanied  with  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  power." 

Teutsch  became  superintendent,  and  Rudolph  Kolbing  came 
to  take  charge  of  the  educational  work.  Extension  was  the 
order  of  the  day,  amongst  colonists  and  natives.  Outposts 
were  regularly  maintained — Kopjes  Kasteel,  Bosiesfeld  and 
Twistwyk  being  served  from  Genadendal,  Houtkloof  from  Elim, 
and  Louwskloof,  Goedverwacht  and  Wittezand  from  Mamre. 
Nor  was  the  advance  one  in  numbers  only.     Various  agencies 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  12/ 

were  set  at  work  for  the  spiritual  elevation  of  the  people,  for 
example,  the  formation  of  a  missionary  society  at  Genadendal 
in  1845. 

For  some  time  plans  for  a  removal  of  the  hospital  for  lepers 
from  the  mainland  had  been  contemplated  by  government.  At 
length  in  December,  1845,  ^^e  transfer  was  effected  to  Robben 
Island,  a  small  rocky  island  near  the  entrance  of  Table  Bay. 
Joseph  Lehman  and  his  wife  accompanied  the  seventy-two  un- 
fortunates to  the  new  home. 

Since  the  early  thirties  the  movement  of  the  Boers  eastward 
and  northv/ard  had  been  of  significance.  The  exodus  involved 
the  trekkers  in  more  or  less  incessant  strife  v/ith  the  native 
tribes.  This  reacted  upon  the  condition  of  the  entire  eastern 
border.  Kaffir  raids  became  frequent.  !Many  cattle  were  Hfted. 
The  proportions  of  a  state  of  belligerency  were  almost  reached. 
At  last  war  actually  broke  out — the  War  of  the  Axe,  in  ^larch, 
1846,  so  named  from  the  fact  that  the  immediate  occasion  for 
hostilities  was  the  murder  of  a  Hottentot,  to  whom  a  Kaffir 
thief  had  been  manacled  whilst  being  conveyed  to  Grahams- 
town  for  trial  on  the  charge  of  stealing  an  axe.  The  escort  was 
attacked  en  route,  and  the  Hottentot  slain.  In  this  war  the 
Gaikas  and  Tambookies  played  a  leading  part,  under  the  gen- 
eralship of  Chief  Sandili.  With  the  quelling  of  the  outbreak  in 
1853  British  KafFraria  was  created  a  colony.  At  first  Shiloh 
was  the  only  mission  station  in  all  Kaffraria  that  escaped  the 
consequences  of  the  strife.  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  v/onder- 
fully  stretched  over  it.  Thither  missionaries  of  other  societies 
fled.  When  peace  was  temporarily  restored  in  1848,  the  ad- 
vance of  the  frontier  to  the  river  Kei  brought  it  within  the 
limits  of  colonial  rule.  But  this  proved  no  unmixed  blessing; 
for  on  the  founding  of  Whittlesea  hostile  traders  suggested  to 
government  to  order  the  missionaries  to  push  on  beyond  the 
frontier  and  do  pioneer  work,  that  the  lands  which  they  had 
reclaimed  might  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  settlers.  But  the 
authorities  had  a  more  just  conception  of  missionary  labor. 
Instead  they  encouraged  the  founding  of  ]Mamre  on  the  Bicha 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Peddie ;  but  with  the  renewal  of  hostili- 
ties this  place  had  to  be  abandoned.  So  also  Shechem,  later 
Goshen,  begun  in  1850  on  the  Windvogelberg.  not  far  from 
Shiloh,  was  perforce  for  a  time  deserted.  At  length  Shiloh 
itself  was  exposed  to  Kaffir  incendiarism.       The  missionaries 


128  A   HISTORY   OF 

and  about  seventy  faithful  Fingoos  found  refuge  in  Colesburg, 
on  the  Orange  River.  Savages  applied  the  torch  to  the  evi- 
dences of  industry  and  civilization,  and  after  the  restoration  of 
peace  Shiloh  and  Goshen  had  to  be  completely  rebuilt. 

Meantime  Teutsch  died  at  Genadendal  on  July  i6,  1852. 
Kolbing  now  became  superintendent,  with  Frederick  William 
Kiihn  as  his  assistant.  At  the  synod  of  1857  it  could  be  re- 
ported that  the  African  mission  during  twenty  years  had  in- 
creased from  a  membership  of  3,308  to  one  of  7,037;  and  that 
several  natives,  trained  at  Genadendal,  were  giving  promise  of 
distinguished  usefulness,  notably  John  Nakin,  John  Zwelibanzi, 
Nicholas  Oppelt  and  Ezekiel  Pfeififer,  the  first  two  Kaffirs,  the 
last  two  Hottentots. 


180 


165 


150 


135 


120 


105 

MAP  OF  THE 

SETTIOy 

slio"wiiig-  the  S 
of  the 

MORAVIAN  Ml 


4-CHURCHKft     IN     PARAMARIBO 

(DIhe  Great  Town  Chourck  (Z)  Combe 
l3)lUst  en  Vrcdc     (i)   TaniocL 

58 


r'  \lslzjid 
)ions  ? 

14  a  ;    •V^>--C^vi 


90 


75 


SO 


15 


)RU) 


(.ItEEtLANI) 


SIGNS 


Lichtenfe' 


r 


r-" 


Arctic    Circle 


'"^^3!!ji>^u  • 


00 


SO 


40 


A       T        L 

! 


-Ascrrt       \ 

A         N         T         1  ( 


()      r      i:      A     x\ 


^     w    »;    s    T 


""aribbeau    Sea  ^; <'lCut 


"X^S^^Oa!^"    IKS  ^l-. 


S*  Thonuu 


Cape  de  Verdt  c  ,» 


Sierra  Lcjona 


STs*fla,^-a/-S'fj6e.  -^?9Pl? ;  pf     "/apricora 


10 


20 


ao 


LV^^. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 29 

CHAPTER  XIII.  r 


THE  THREE  NEW  MISSION   FIELDS  ENTERED  BETWEEN    THE    YEARS 

1848  AND  1857 — THE  MOSKITO  COAST,  AUSTRALIA 

AND    CENTRAL   ASIA. 

Along  the  Caribbean  coast  of  Central  America,  from  the 
Wama  or  Sinsin  Creek  to  Rama  River,  and  for  about  forty  miles 
inland,  lies  the  Moskito  Reserve.  From  1655  to  1850  this  ter- 
ritory enjoyed  a  semi-independent  status,  under  the  protection 
of  Great  Britain,  being  ruled  by  a  so-called  Indian  "king."  The 
terms  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  in  1850,  and  of  the  treaty 
of  Managua  in  i860,  transferred  the  protectorate  to  Nicaragua, 
and  in  1895  all  vestiges  of  semi-independence  were  swept  away. 

Special  attention  was  directed  to  this  district  of  Central 
America  about  the  year  1847  by  an  attempt  of  the  Prussian 
government  to  establish  a  colony  there.  But  it  proved  difficult 
to  direct  the  tide  of  emigration  thither  owing  to  the  reputation 
of  the  climate.  At  this  time  Prince  Schonburg-Waldenberg,  a 
hberal  supporter  of  Moravian  Missions,  earnestly  solicited  the 
efforts  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  this 
little  known  land.  In  response  the  Conference  commissioned 
Henry  PfeifFer  and  Amadeus  A.  Reinke,  missionaries  in 
Jamaica,  to  undertake  a  tour  of  exploration.  Proceeding  via 
Greytown,  they  reached  Bluefields,  the  capital,  a  village  with  JL 
from  six  to  seven  hundred  inhabitants,  on  Mav  2,  1847.  The 
place  itself  perpetuated  the  cognomen  of  a  notorious  buccaneer 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  one  Blauveldt,  and  was  found  to  be 
characterized  by  an  absence  of  religious  observances.  For  the 
EngHsh  speaking  people  a  catechist  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
an  ex-schoolmaster  from  Jamaica,  read  prayers  and  a  sermon 
on  the  Lord's  Day.  Xow  and  then  unauthorized  colored  per- 
sons went  through  a  caricature  of  infant  baptism  and  collected 
fees  from  the  negroes  whose  innate  religiousness  they  imposed 
upon. 


130  A   HISTORY   OF 

For  the  Indians — Moscos,  or  Moskitos,  Woohvas,  Ramas, 
Sumoos  and  Caribs — who  periodicaUy  visited  Bluefields  to  trade 
in  tortoise-shells  and  deer-skins,  and  pay  tribute  to  their  "king," 
no  ray  of  light  pierced  the  fog  of  superstition  through  which 
they  groped.  They  were  the  unquestioning  slaves  of  their 
"sukias"  or  medicine-men.  Their  reUgious  conceptions  were  ex- 
tremely scanty.  They  had  a  dim  idea  of  a  mighty,  good  and 
benevolent  being,  named  "Won  Aisa" — Our  Father.  But  no 
personal  relationship  subsisted  between  him  and  man.  It  did 
not  enter  into  their  thoughts  to  honor  him  with  any  form  of  wor- 
ship. On  the  other  hand  a  great  crowd  of  evil  spirits,  the 
"Ulassa,"  played  a  prominent  role  in  their  life.  These  spirits 
incessantly  threaten  man  and  bring  upon  him  all  the  forms  of 
evil  and  misfortune  to  which  he  is  exposed.  They  scare  off 
the  fish  which  he  in  vain  tries  to  catch.  They  cause  the  tree, 
as  it  is  being  felled,  to  fall  so  as  to  inflict  injury.  They  are  at 
fault,  when  the  arrow  or  the  ball  happens  to  miss  the  deer 
caught  trespassing  in  the  corn  field.  They  occasion  sickness 
and  death — often  in  league  with  a  personal  foe.  Yet  they  were 
not  regarded  as  the  cause  of  sin,  for  the  Indians  themselves 
were  almost  unmoral,  devoid  of  ethical  judgment.  But  they 
lived  in  constant  dread  of  the  bad  spirits,  and  life  for  them  con- 
sisted largely  in  efforts  to  ward  off  their  malevolent  influence. 
The  average  man  was,  however,  too  weak  for  this.  He  required 
special  assistance,  such  as  could  be  alone  rendered  by  the 
"sukia"  or  medicine  man.  The  latter  beHeved  himself  enpow- 
ered  to  cast  out  Beelzebub  with  the  aid  of  Beelzebub.  His 
secret  formulas  and  preposterous  mummeries,  of  which  his  sim- 
ple-minded fellow-countrymen  stood  in  awe,  procured  him  the 
substantial  rewards  of  the  successful  imposter.  Polygamy  was 
common,  the  number  of  a  man's  wives  being  limited  only  by  his 
ability  to  purchase  and  maintain  them.  The  great  vice  of  the 
people  was  drunkenness,  the  national  drink  being  "machla,"  an 
intoxicant  decocted  from  corn.  For  the  rest,  the  tropical  cli- 
mate induced  indolence.  The  rudest  sort  of  shelter  beneath  the 
magnificent  shade  of  the  forests,  a  bow  and  arrows,  a  dug-out 
canoe,  an  iron  pot  for  cooking  and  a  hammock  woven  from 
grasses  or  the  inner  bark  of  trees — and  the  Indian  was  content. 
A  string  of  colored  pearls  around  his  neck  might  be  the  sole 
relief  of  his  nakedness,  even  a  breech-cloth  being  absent. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I3I 

The  first  result  of  the  visit  was  that  the  "king"  urged  the  ex- 
plorers to  commence  a  mission  in  his  territory,  and  offered  a 
plot  of  land  in  Bluefields  besides  an  island  inhabited  by  Rama 
Indians.  The  Germans  were  solicitous  of  the  establishment  of 
stated  services  in  their  own  tongue,  and  the  British  consul 
promised  hearty  cooperation. 

PfeifTer's  report  and  his  own  wilhngness  to  become  a  pioneer 
led  to  his  appointment,  with  Eugene  Lundberg  and  Ernest 
George  Kandler  as  his  co-workers.  They  reached  Bluefields  on 
March  14,  1849.  Most  of  the  other  Europeans,  however,  re- 
moved to  Greytown,  created  a  free  port  of  entry  in  1851  because 
of  the  thousands  who  sought  the  Golden  Gate  of  California  via 
Nicaragua. 

In  October,  1853,  the  baptism  of  the  first  convert,  a  negro 
woman,  took  place.  Intercourse  with  the  Indians  was  still  lim- 
ited. But  as  the  language  was  mastered,  visits  to  Indian  vil- 
lages, especially  to  Pearl  Key  lagoon,  became  fruitful.  When 
Rudolph  WuIIschlaegel  in  June,  1855,  on  his  way  from  Surinam 
to  take  his  place  in  the  Conference,  rejoiced  the  missionaries 
by  an  unexpected  visit,  and  consecrated  their  new  church,  the 
average  attendance  was  about  three  hundred.  The  consecra- 
tion was  accompanied  by  the  baptism  of  one  of  the  sisters  of  the 
"king,"  :\Iatilda,  the  first  of  the  Indians  to  openly  decide  for 
Christ.  Meantime  reenforcements  had  arrived— amongst  the 
rest  Paulsen  Jiirgersen  and  wife,  who  proceeded  to  Pearl  Key 
lagoon,  and  founded  Magdala.  As  the  crow  flies  this  place  was 
about  twenty  miles  distant,  but  ten  more  by  the  waterway  navi- 
gable for  canoes. 

In  1854  Pfciffer  retired.  His  successor  was  Gustavus  Feurig, 
well  qualified  by  fourteen  years  of  experience  in  Jamaica.  Mag- 
dala now  gave  large  promise  of  results.  The  visits  of  the  mis- 
sionaries to  Rama  Key,  an  island  fifteen  miles  from  Bluefields, 
awoke  a  ready  response  among  the  Indians,  and  a  church  was 
built  in  1857. 

The  blackfeliows  of  Australia  claimed  the  attention  of  the 
church  in  the  years  following  the  synod  of  184S.  Australia  has 
been  compared  to  "one  of  the  atolls  that  lie  in  the  tropic  waters 
around  it,  being  in  eflfect  a  great  ring  of  fertile  soil  surrounded 
by  the  barrenness  of  the  ocean,  and  enclosing  in  its  turn  a  deso- 
late sea  of  rock  and  sand.     In  the  inhospitable  interior  of  Aus- 


132  A   HISTORY   OF 

tralia  all  the  kindly  influences  of  nature  fail.  The  rain  clouds 
shun  it,  or  pass  over  it  without  meeting  the  hills  that  should 
arrest  their  course  and  pour  them  down  in  showers  upon  the 
yearning  soil ;  rivers,  wandering  inland  from  their  sources  near 
the  shore,  sink  into  it  without  causing  it  to  smile ;  its  secrets 
are  locked  in  perpetual  drought,  and  its  histories  are  written 
in  the  bones  of  men  and  beasts,  that  striving  to  penetrate  its 
mysteries,  only  added  thereto  by  the  uncertainty  of  the  fate  that 
overtook  them  in  its  wilds.  But  along  the  entire  coast-line,  and 
exending  inland  variously  for  a  distance  of  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  miles,  is  a  belt  of  rich  land."  Again  between  it  and 
the  sea  of  sand  and  rock  that  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the  conti- 
nent, is  another  belt  of  poorer  soil  suitable  only  for  raising 
sheep,  but  excellent  for  that. 

At  the  time  of  the  Dutch  discovery  the  habitable  strips  along 
the  sea-coasts  were  occupied  by  the  Papuans,  the  very  lowest 
of  savages.  Such  their  descendants  have  largely  remained. 
Divided  into  very  small  tribes,  they  are  nomads  by  inherited  m- 
stinct.  A  hut  of  branches  or  bark,  scarcely  affording  shelter, 
is  their  only  home,  if  such  it  may  be  called.  For  clothing  at 
most  they  wear  an  opossum  skin  or  a  grass  mat.  When  first 
discovered  they  had  not  a  single  cooking  utensil.  Without  a 
domestic  animal,  and  cultivating  nothing,  their  food  was  the 
flesh  of  the  kangaroo,  opossum,  wild  dog,  lizard,  snake,  rat,  or 
loathsome  reptile  or  grub,  or  even  that  of  a  fellow  man.  Their 
women  were  slaves  and  beasts  of  burden.  Their  infants  were 
killed  without  compunctions,  if  sickly.  Of  religion  they  had 
very  little.  Their  conception  of  God  was  that  of  a  gigantic  old 
man,  lying  asleep  for  ages  with  his  head  resting  upon  his  arm, 
which  is  deep  in  the  sand.  One  day  he  is  expected  to  awake 
and  eat  up  the  world.  Religious  ceremonies  were  confined  to 
circumcision  and  the  "corroboree."  In  connection  with  the 
former,  inflicted  on  youths  as  they  came  to  maturity,  various 
rites  were  observed,  like  the  punching  of  a  hole  through  the 
nose  for  the  insertion  of  an  ornament,  and  the  knocking  out  of 
the  two  front  teeth  with  a  wooden  mallet.  The  corroboree  was  a 
midnight  orgy,  when  the  naked  savages  danced  and  howled  till 
exhausted,  having  previously  so  marked  their  bodies  with  white 
clay,  that  at  some  distance  they  resembled  moving  skeletons. 
The  vilest  immorality  accompanied  these  heathen  rites.  The 
dead  were  indeed  interred  with  care  in  graves  lined  with  bark. 


f,V--— ■ 


C** 


i^t^'^i-l 


J 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  1 33 

and  kept  free  from  weeds,  whilst  food,  and  after  it  had  been  in- 
troduced, tobacco,  might  be  placed  to  supply  needs  in  the  spirit- 
world.  In  ghosts  and  in  witchcraft  they  had  firm  faith,  and  in 
the  power  of  the  "evil  eye."  It  was  very  unlucky  for  a  man  to 
meet  his  mother-in-law.  To  avoid  the  blight  of  her  counte- 
nance, he  would  go  far  out  of  his  way.  Such  were  the  black- 
fellows,  when  the  whites  arrived,  and  unfortunately  for  them  the 
first  whites  with  whom  they  came  in  contact  were  those  that  did 
them  no  good.  In  1788,  eighteen  years  after  Captain  Cook's 
famous  explorations,  the  British  Government  began  to  make 
use  of  Australia  as  a  penal  colony.  The  convicts  taught  the 
natives  the  vices  of  civiUzation.  Drink  began  to  play  havoc 
amongst  them.  The  ex-convict  who  remained  in  the  country 
thought  no  more  of  hunting  and  shooting  natives  than  kanga- 
roos. 

Sporadic  attempts  at  missions  amongst  them  had  been  made 
by  various  societies ;  but  up  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury the  possibility  of  converting  and  changing  the  native  Aus- 
tralians, body,  soul  and  spirit,  had  not  been  demonstrated. 
Meantime  they  were  tending  to  extinction  in  colonial  Australia. 

Repeated  calls  had  come  to  the  Moravian  Church  in  the  thir- 
ties and  in  the  forties  to  have  compassion  on  this  race.  In 
Herrnhut,  Niesky  and  other  German  congregations  "Australian 
Associations"  had  been  formed  amongst  the  young  men.  for 
stated  prayer  and  systematic  giving  in  behalf  of  a  future  mis- 
sion. The  synod  had  therefore  committed  the  church  to  an 
attempt.  Andrew  Frederick  Christian  Tager,  a  member  of 
Niesky,  and  Frederick  William  Spieseke  of  Gnadenberg  were 
despatched  as  pioneers,  and  arrived  at  Melbourne  on  February 
25,  1850.  where  a  cordial  welcome  was  accorded  them  by  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  Joseph  La  Trobe,  a  brother  of  the  Mission 
Secretary  in  London.  To  his  kind  offices  and  the  sympathy  of 
Christian  friends  the  favorable  issue  of  negotiations  for  a  tract 
of  land  and  the  first  establishment  of  the  missionaries  in  their 
new  home  in  the  "Malice,"  or  scrub,  were  largely  owing. 

Permanent  operations  were  commenced  in  October,  185 1,  on 
a  reserve  in  the  Lake  Boga  District.  The  terms  of  the  grant 
indeed  contemplated  a  possibility  that  the  course  of  events 
might  render  inexpedient  the  permanence  of  the  missionary 
operations  in  this  particular  quarter.  The  climate  proved 
healthy,  save  that  Tager  suffered  from  an  affection  of  the  eyes. 


134  A   HISTORY    OF 

But  the  natives  were  exceedingly  shy  and  timid,  and  their  no- 
madic tendency  appeared  to  be  almost  invincible. 

In  the  year  1854  an  additional  missionary,  Paul  Hansen,  ar- 
rived, and  La  Trobe,  resigning  office,  returned  to  England. 
Now  the  position  of  the  missionaries  was  rendered  trying  by  the 
discovery  of  gold  near  Mount  Alexander.  The  road  to  the  dig- 
gings lay  along  the  River  Murray  and  past  the  station.  The 
unbridled  wickedness  often  attendant  upon  a  rush  to  gold-dig- 
gings, and  disputes  as  to  the  right  of  way  through  the  mission- 
tract  and  the  title  to  the  mission-lands,  vexed  their  souls.  The 
civil  authorities  decided  the  points  in  dispute  against  the  mis- 
sion. Tager,  now  in  poor  health,  acting  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility as  superintendent,  and  without  consulting  the  authorities 
at  home,  in  1856  abandoned  the  field,  though  Spieseke  pro- 
tested. 

After  a  careful  investigation  of  the  whole  affair  the  Confer- 
ence could  not  withhold  censure.  The  promise  was  given,  that 
the  honor  of  the  church  should  be  redeemed  by  a  new  attempt 
as  speedily  as  practicable. 

The  third  new  undertaking  of  these  years  had  Central.  Asia 

as  its  objective.     From  almost  the  beginning  of  its  missionary" 

operations  the  Moravian  Church  under  the  leadership  of  Count 

Zinzendorf  had  directed  its  gaze  towards  the  millions  of  Mon- 

g-olia  and  the  Chinese  Empire.     Several  unsuccessful  efforts  had 

been  made  via  Russia  or  Persia.     From  the  standpoint  of  the 

church  the  founding  of  Sarepta  was  planned  as  one  pier  of  a 

bridge  to  the  Orient.     Wlien  the  Czar  Alexander  I  looked  with 

favor  upon  the  Brethren,  Godfrey  Schill  and  Christian  Hiibner 

of  Sarepta  in  1815  had  been  quick  to  renew  efforts  in  behalf  of 

the  Asiatics.      Two  Buriats  from  Lake  Baikal  had  been  con- 

y^Tted.     The  Gospels  had  been  printed  in  Kalmuck  Tartar  by 

saac  Schmidt  of  St.  Petersburg.     But  in  1822  an  imperial  edict 

had  peremptorily  prohibited  further  operations. 

'^^kJfJir^    ^^^^  representations  of  Dr.  GiJtslaff,  of  China,  when  on  a  visit 

'"'•''      to  -Herrnhut  in  1850,  therefore  received  a  sympathetic  hearing. 

\'  He  wished  the  Moravian  Church  to  again  seek  to  enter  the 

great  Chinese  Empire  from  the  west,  so  that  two  streams  of 

missionary  force  might  meet  in  the  heart  of  the  land  when  open 

to  Europeans. 


MOR^WIAN    MISSIONS.  1 35 

Numerous    volunteers    came    forward.      Edward    Pagell    of 
Gnadenfrei  and  Augustus  William  Heyde  of  Herrnhut  were  se- 
lected.     Calcutta  was  reached  on  November  23,  1853'.      Their 
first  destination  was   Kotghur,  where   Mr.   Prochnow',  of  the 
Church   Missionary   Society,  welcomed   and  assisted   them   as 
laborers  in  a  common  cause.     Here  a  considerable  period  was 
spent  in  Hnguistic  study  under  a  Tibetan  lama.     In  April,  1855, 
they  set  out  on  a  tour  of  preliminary  investigation,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  two  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  had  recently  been 
murdered  when  attempting  to  proceed  to  Tibet  by  way  of  As- 
sam.    At  Leh,  in  Ladak,  they  were  made  to  feel  anything  but 
welcome.    .Nor  did  they  discover  a  bright  prospect  for  a  mission 
in  Chinese  territory.     When  the  frontier  was  crossed  by  passes 
at  heights  varying  from  13,000  to  17,000  feet  above  sea  level, 
nothing  was  gained.      Invariably  the  Tibetans  refused  to  sell 
provisions  of  any  sort  for  man  or  beast;  and  the  "gopas,"  or 
head  men  of  each  village,  besought  the  Europeans  to  return, 
saying  that  if  they  did  not  succeed  in  stopping  them,  they  them- 
selves would  have  to  answer  to  higher  officials  with  their  heads. 
The  next  winter  was  therefore  spent  in  Kotghur.      Circum- 
'  stances  necessitated  the  founding  of  the  first  station  amongst 
the  Tibetan  speaking  Buddhists  of  Lahul,  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  frontier  of  Chinese  Tibet.       It  w^as  the  best  that  could  be 
done.     Through  the  intervention  of  Major  Lake  of  the  British 
East  India  Company,  in  1856  land  was  secured  in  the  valley  of 
the  Bhagar,  sixty  miles  or  so  from  the  borders,  near  Kyelang, 
and  across  the  river  from  the  town  of  Kardang,  at  an  elevation 
of  about  10,000  feet.     Before  winter  the  mission  house  was  com- 
pleted— a   solitary  outpost  of  Christianity  amid  the  Western 
Himalayas,  over  against  the  fortress  of  the  Dalai  Lama;  but 
again  the  missionaries  sought  the  friendly  hospitality  of  Kot- 
ghur, in  order  that  early  in  1857  they  might  welcome  the  arrival 
of  their  future  leader.       This  tvas  Henry  Augustus  Jaeschke, 
hitherto    a    professor    in    the    college    at    Xiesky.      Appointed 
because   of  his   preeminent   linguistic   abilities,  that   he   might 
translate  the  Scriptures  into  Tibetan,  he  arrived  at  Calcutta  in 
January,  and  hastened  to  his  colleagues.      With  his  arrival  a 
new  stage  of  the  work  of  this  mission  began. 


136  A    HISTORY   OF 


CHAPTER  XIV 


% 


f'V 


THE   FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    FROM    1857   TO    1869. 

Provincial  independence  was  coupled  with  the  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  the  work  of  evangelization  amongst  the  heathen 
remains  one  of  the  strongest  bonds  linking  each  division  of 
the  Brethren's  Church  to  the  Unity  as  such.  More  complete 
occupation  of  existing  fields  and  the  extension  of  the  entire 
enterprise  were  proclaimed  to  be  the  definite  policy  of  the 
church. 

In  Greenland,  as  a  consequence  of  the  official  visit  paid  in 
1858  by  Ernest  Reichel  mission  stations  were  established  in 
succeeding  years  at  Umanak  on  an  island  up  the  fjord  from 
New  Herrnhut,  and  at  Igdlorpait  on  an  island  nine  miles  from 
Lichtenau. 

To  supply  the  requisite  native  assistants  two  normal  schools 
were  commenced  in  1866,  at  New  Herrnhut  by  Bindschedler 
and  at  Lichtenau  by  Kogel  and  Spindler. 

Labrador,  like  Greenland,  also  enjoyed  official  visits — that  of 
Levin  Theodore  Reichel  in  1861,  and  that  of  Charles  Linder 
in  1864  and  1865  in  the  interests  of  the  Society  for  the  Further- 
ance of  the  Gospel — and  had  also  its  attempts  at  extension.  In 
1864  a  spot  was  selected  to  the  south  of  Nain — to  be  known 
as  Zoar.  Here  Michael  Ernest  Beyer  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  new  mission,  and  hither  Augustus  Ferdinand  Eisner  and  wife 
moved  in  May,  1866.  It  afforded  special  opportunity  to  exer- 
cise a  helpful  influence  over  European  and  half-caste  settlers. 
Although  previous  attempts  had  been  so  fruitless,  another 
exploratory  tour  was  undertaken  northwards.  Gottlob  and 
Daniel,  two  native  assistants,  stirred  by  the  news  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  John  King  in  Surinam,  brought  the  gospel  to  their 
countrymen  as  far  as  Cape  Chudleigh  and  along  the  eastern 
shore  of  Ungava  Bay,  voyaging  in  a  sailing  vessel  of  their  own. 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  I  37 

They  set  out  in  July,  1867,  and  during  the  following  winter 
returned  to  the  missionaries  to  report  the  welcome  tidings 
of  a  desire  for  a  "teacher."  Meantime  Saeglek,  a  point  north 
of  Hebron,  had  been  chosen  as  the  site  of  a  proposed  mission, 
and  a  rude  temporary  cabin  had  been  built.  But  then  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  sent  an  agent  thither,  and  to  avoid  disputes 
the  missionaries  withdrew.  Nachvak  Bay,  thirty  miles  farther 
to  the  north  was  next  chosen ;  again  the  trading  company  inter- 
posed. Now  Xullatatok  Bay  was  hit  upon ;  but  circumstances 
compelled  the  postponement  of  active  operations. 

The  winter  of  1862  to  1863  was  attended  with  great  mortality 
at  Hebron.  One  sixth  of  the  people  died.  The  sickness  was 
so  general  that  at  one  time  frozen  corpses  of  necessity  lay 
nnburied  for  a  month.  During  the  following  winter  influenza 
and  erysipelas  proved  very  fatal  at  Okak,  Xain  and  Hopedale. 
These  visitations  led  to  the  establishment  of  an  orphanage  at 
Okak,  at  Easter,  1865,  in  accordance  with  plans  adopted  at  a 
general  mission  conference  convoked  some  time  before  at 
Nain.  Ten  of  the  most  destitute  Eskimo  waifs  were  gathered 
together  into  a  home  superintended  by  the  native  schoolmaster 
and  his  wife. 

The  West  Indies  had  enjoyed  the  influence  of  the  marked 
revivals  of  religion  in  America.  Thoughts  were  consequently 
turned  to  the  possibility  of  complete  self-support  on  the  part  of 
the  native  church.  Discussion  of  this  project  formed  one  of 
the  main  purposes  of  an  official  visit  paid  by  Bishop  Cunow 
and  the  Mission  Secretary,  Thomas  L.  Badham,  during  the 
years  1862  and  1863.  But  untoward  externals  interfered,  fre- 
quent and  wide-spread  droughts,  yellow  fever,  disastrous  tor- 
nados and  earthquakes.  The  civil  war  in  America  put  an  em- 
bargo upon  many  articles  of  commerce,  whilst  the  stagnation 
of  the  sugar  trade  deprived  many  of  their  means  of  livelihood. 
Emigration,  in  particular  to  Demerara,  set  in — notably  from 
Barbados.  This  unfavorable  change  is  clearly  disclosed  in 
the  contrast  presented  by  extracts  from  two  letters  written 
from  Barbados  by  John  Henry  Buchner  in  1858  and  1863. 
When  proceeding  to  assume  the  superintendence  of  the  mis- 
sion in  the  former  year,  he  thus  chronicles  his  first  impres- 
sions: "On  Thursday  morning  the  steamer  brought  us  in  sight 
of  Barbados.  . ,  .It  delights  the  eye  by  its  rich  cultivation.  The 
island  is  spread  out  like  a  garden,  with  its  cane  fields,  its  wind- 


138  A   HISTORY    OF 

mills,  its  extensive  town  and  numerous  scattered  houses. 
When  we  arrived  the  harbor  was  very  lively,  many  vessels  were 
taking  in  their  cargoes,  and  boats  were  passing  in  all  direc- 
tions. ..  .When  we  landed  on  the  wharf,  the  crowd  at  work 
there,  and  the  large  number  of  sugar  hogsheads  waiting  to  be 
shipped,  at  once  gave  us  the  idea  that  we  had  come  to  a  stirring 
and  prosperous  place.... We  passed  numbers  of  gentlemen's 
houses,  many  of  them  with  prettily  laid  out  gardens,  and  pre- 
senting an  aspect  of  wealth  and  comfort.  The  road  was  very 
lively.  The  number  of  carriages  and  vehicles  of  every  descrip- 
tion, as  well  as  of  pedestrians,  would  have  reminded  us  of 
some  populous  district  in  England,  had  not  the  dark  complexion 
of  the  passers-by,  and  the  appearance  of  the  houses,  and  of 
many  natural  objects  convinced  us  that  we  were  in  the  West 
Indies."  Five  years  later  he  writes :  "How  many  of  the  people 
of  this  island  still  live,  is  a  mystery  to  us.  Hundreds  have  no 
ostensible  means  of  getting  a  Hvelihood  at  all.  You  have  per- 
haps heard  that  thieves  and  vagabonds  have  been  going  about 
the  country  in  gangs  of  from  ten  to  twenty,  robbing  and  plun- 
dering, and  causing  not  a  little  alarm.  Now  that  most  of  them 
are  lodged  in  jail,  and  a  proper  watch  is  kept,  all  is  again  peace- 
ful and  quiet.  Of  course,  all  receipts  are  falling  off,  especially 
the  school-fees  and  the  subscriptions  to  the  Missionary  associa- 
tions. But  this  is  not  what  distresses  us  most;  the  church  is 
not  so  well  attended  as  formerly,  and  the  schools  are  half 
empty.  This  is  simply  because  adults  and  children  have  no 
clothes  but  rags,,  in  which  they  can  not  show  themselves.  This 
is  a  state  of  things  which  is  beyond  our  power  to  remedy.  . .  .It 
is  a  sad,  sad  tale  which  I  have  to  tell.  The  distress  here  is  fear- 
ful;  and  it  is  not  a  passing  depression,  likely  to  continue  but 
for  a  short  time ;  it  is  a  crisis  which  will  require  years  to 
develop  its  results,  and  which  will,  I  fear,  entail  severe  suffering 
on  all  classes." 

After  having  personally  inspected  the  operations  on  all  the 
various  islands,  Cunow  and  Badham  convoked  a  general  con- 
ference at  St.  Thomas  in  June,  1863.  It  was  a  gathering  that 
marked  a  new  epoch.  The  visitants  embodied  the  results  of 
their  observations  in  the  form  of  proposals  to  be  now  acted 
upon,  and  after  endorsement  to  be  laid  before  the  Mission 
Board  as  the  basis  for  the  new  methods  of  operation.  Self- 
support,  native  agency,  local  management  and  education  were 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  39 

the  chief  points  involved.  Conditions  that  varied  not  only  as 
between  island  and  island  but  also  as  between  the  stations  in  a 
given  sub-division  of  the  field — differences  in  regard  to  tem- 
poral prosperity,  social  advancement,  mental  culture  and  Chris- 
tian experience — rendered  very  difficult  the  formulation  of  gen- 
eral principles  universally  applicable.  Whilst  the  justice  and 
ultimate  necessity  of  attaining  self-support  were  fully  recog- 
nized by  all,  practical  obstacles  were  often  in  the  w-ay,  and  could 
not  be  ignored.  Jamaica  promised  to  attempt  it,  except  that 
the  outlay  for  buildings  and  for  the  journeys  of  missionaries 
would  still  have  to  be  met  from  the  general  mission  treasury. 
The  Danish  islands  together  with  St.  Kitts  and  Tobago,  ex- 
pressed a  willingness  to  rely  upon  a  gradually  decreasing  grant 
for  a  decade,  in  the  hope  that  during  the  interval  local  resources 
might  attain  a  sufficient  development.  Antigua  and  Barbados, 
while  acquiescing  in  the  principle  of  self-support,  and  hoping 
later  to  make  theory  and  practice  equal,  found  present  hind- 
rances insuperable.  With  regard  to  native  agency,  although  a 
commencement  had  been  made,  and  although  of  the  687  native 
assistants  and  of  the  122  school-masters  many  had  rendered 
and  were  rendering  efficient  help  as  exhorters  and  evangelists, 
it  was  felt  that  the  church  must  proceed  with  circumspection 
in  appointing  native  pastors.  ]Meantime  the  meetings  of  the 
"helpers"  were  to  be  developed  into  something  resembling  the 
sessions  of  congregation  committees  and  conferences  at  home. 
The  school  system  was  to  be  carefully  fostered,  and  an  approach 
to  uniformity  of  method  attempted  through  the  work  of  the 
four  normal  schools — a  fourth  having  been  commenced  in  1861 
at  Bethabara  in  Jamaica  for  female  teachers.  At  the  same  time 
eagerness  to  advance  did  not  shut  out  of  view  a  recognition  of 
the  danger  of  raising  the  standard  of  the  mission-schools  far 
above  the  real  requirements  of  the  people. 

But  the  happy  anticipations  aroused  by  the  brave  plans  of 
the  general  conference  were  rudely  interrupted.  In  18G6 
cholera  and  yellow  fever  entered  St.  Thomas.  By  January  23, 
1867.  860  deaths  had  been  recorded  in  the  city  alone.  Sea  cap- 
tains began  to  avoid  the  port  as  a  pest  hole.  Doctors  and  mis- 
sionaries and  volunteer  nurses  stood  bravely  at  their  posts,  and 
the  pestilence  was  subdued.  But  on  October  29  a  terrific  hurri- 
cane passed  over  the  Danish  islands.  Shingles  and  planks  flew 
throujrh  the  air.     Then  the  cabins  of  the  natives  gave  wav.     At 


140  A   HISTORY   OF 

length  the  very  finest  buildings  were  rent  and  cracked.  In  the 
town  more  than  three  hundred  lives  were  lost.  Seventy-seven 
vessels  were  wrecked.  The  fine  new  church  at  Nisky  was  in 
ruins,  and  the  other  houses  were  partly  destroyed.  Not  a  sta- 
tion on  St.  Thomas  or  St.  John  but  had  been  seriously  damaged. 
The  fields  were  devastated,  and  the  groves  and  woods  were 
choked  with  wreckage.  Then  just  before  three  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  November  i8  a  terrible  earthquake  visited  the 
devoted  island.  Shock  followed  shock.  A  huge  tidal  wave 
with  an  awful  roar  carried  the  sea  far  inland,  and  after  dashing 
on  shore  vessels  of  every  size  and  sort,  receded,  leaving  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  perfectly  bare  and  exposing  sunken  wrecks 
for  about  three  hundred  yards.  Three  times  the  terrifying 
experience  was  repeated.  Royal  mail  steamers  went  down  with 
their  valuable  cargoes  and  precious  freightage  of  human  Hves. 
The  wharves  and  warehouses  along  the  shore  were  laid  waste. 
Tremendous  damage  was  done  to  property.  Providentially  the 
Moravian  church  still  stood  amidst  hundreds  of  ruined  houses. 
More  damage  was  done  to  mission  property  elsewhere,  the 
losses  being  estimated  from  $10,000  to  $15,000.  The  mission 
school  at  Friedensberg,  St.  Croix,  was  turned  into  a  hospital 
for  the  disabled  seamen  of  the  United  States  frigate  Monon- 
gahela,  which  had  been  carried  ashore,  and  left  high  and  dry. 
For  six  weeks  following  shocks  recurred  daily  with  few  excep- 
tions. The  sullen  rumblings  were  an  ever  repeated  reminder 
that  at  any  moment  the  seismic  disturbances  might  increase  in 
intensity.  Many  people  fled  from  the  towns  to  the  hills  and 
open  country.  Not  until  the  following  February  was  it  con- 
sidered safe  to  renew  public  worship  in  the  town  of  St.  Thomas. 
That  these  calamities  called  forth  the  active  benevolence  of  the 
membership  at  home  goes  with  the  saying.  A  large  legacy 
received  through  the  agency  of  the  London  Association  proved 
a  godsend  in  the  emergency. 

Meantime  memorable  things  were  transpiring  in  Jamaica. 
In  August,  1858,  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  inquiry  appeared  in  the 
normal  school  at  Fairfield,  now  in  charge  of  Sondermann  and 
Prince,  and  before  long  spread  through  the  congregations,  until 
it  culminated  in  a  manifest  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
i860,  especially  at  Carmel,  Fulneck  and  Fairfield.  Whilst 
strange  phenomena — fits  of  trembling  or  temporary  loss  of 
speech — bore  testimony  to  the  emotional  nature  of  the  race  and 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I4I 

pointed  to  the  close  connection  between  the  psychical  and  the 
physical,  the  most  striking  features  of  this  experience  were  the 
deep  sense  of  sin  and  utter  want  of  comfort  and  peace  until 
assurance  of  pardon  through  the  grace  of  an  atoning  Saviour 
found  entrance  into  hearts.  Then  the  fruits  of  faith  became 
very  evident.  Churches  and  schools  were  crow'ded,  contribu- 
tions became  liberal,  the  demand  for  Bibles  and  devotional 
works  enlarged,  the  sacredness  of  Christian  marriage  received 
wider  recognition,  and  additions  to  the  churches  multiplied. 
Ere  long  all  the  mission  congregations  on  the  island  shared  in 
the  happy  experience.  The  demand  for  Bibles  especially  be- 
came so  large  that  it  could  scarcely  be  met.  The  Westmore- 
land Bible  Society  alone  issued  about  two  thousand  copies. 

Early  in  the  following  year  the  work  at  New  Hope,  on  ac- 
count of  its  low  and  swampy  site,  was  removed  to  an  estate 
which  had  been  purchased  by  Alfred  B.  Lind,  henceforth  known 
as  Salem,  where  he  encouraged  the  blacks  to  colonize  and 
themselves  become  independent  planters  on  a  small  scale.  In 
1865  Mizpah  was  also  founded  between  Bethabara  and  Bethany. 

Meanwhile  the  vacancy  in  the  Mission  Board  caused  by  the 
death  of  Bishop  Wullschlaegel  in  March,  1863,  had  deprived 
Jamaica  of  the  services  of  Augustus  Clemens.  In  his  place 
Abraham  Lichtenthaeler  became  superintendent. 

On  the  neighboring  Moskito  Coast  the  missionaries  were 
now  slowly  counteracting  the  nomadic  tendencies  of  the  In- 
dians, and  village-life  was  being  successfully  introduced.  Hopes 
could  be  entertained  that  in  time  the  scope  of  the  work  would 
be  coextensive  with  the  territory.  At  Rama  and  at  Reitapura 
(Brown  Bank)  churches  had  been  built,  and  in  Bluefields  the 
congregation  was  growing  in  numbers  and  in  influence.  Special 
assistance  had  been  afforded  by  the  gift  of  a  small  schooner, 
\^Thc  Mcssoigcr  of  Peace,''  presented  by  friends  at  Zeist  in  1858. 

The  year  i860  was  signalized  by  an  official  visit  on  the  part 
of  Bishop  Westerby  of  Antigua,  commissioned  by  the  Board. 
At  Rama  Key  he  especially  noted  the  decided  change  for  the 
better.  The  people  were  no  longer  wretched  savages.  Now 
decently  clad  and  contented  and  happy  they  were  living  in  neat 
cottages,  roughly  built  indeed,  and  thatched  only  with  palm 
leaves  and  having  floors  of  clay,  but  clean  and  divided  into  sepa- 
rate rooms  that  made  some  provision  for  privacy.  In  October 
of   the    same   year   the    fruits    of   former   visits    up   the    coast 


142  A   HISTORY   OF 

appeared  in  the  founding  of  Ephrata  at  Wounta  Hallover,  not 
far  from  Cape  Gracias  a  Dios.  Here  Kandler  was  stationed. 
The  situation  required  a  man  of  courage,  tact  and  abihty. 
White  men,  mahogany-cutters  from  Belize,  were  bringing  in 
Hquors,  and  drunkenness  and  brawling  were  distressingly  fre- 
quent. In  addition  to  this  new  undertaking,  on  Corn  Island, 
directly  east  from  Magdala,  Jacob  Jonathan  Hoch  began  Joppa 
amongst  a  purely  negro  population. 

Early  in  this  same  year  the  political  status  of  the  coast  had 
been  readjusted.  By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Managua 
Britain,  having  already  in  1850  resigned  all  claims  to  ownership 
in  the  stipulations  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  ceded  her  pro- 
tectorate to  Nicaragua.  "The  local  chief  was  induced  to  accept 
the  arrangement  on  the  condition  of  retaining  his  administra- 
tive functions  and  receiving  a  yearly  subvention  of  $5,000  from 
the  suzerain  state  for  the  ten  years  ending  in  1870.  But  he 
died  in  1864,  and  Nicaragua  never  recognized  his  successor. 
Nevertheless  the  reserve  continued  to  be  ruled  by  a  chief  elected 
by  the  natives  and  assisted  by  an  administrative  council  which 
assembled  at  Bluefields."  For  the  present  the  Indians  asserted 
a  quasi-independence  under  Chief  George  William. 

Now  the  mission  at  Magdala  especially  prospered.  Grune- 
wald's  normal  school  was  removed  thither  from  Bluefields. 
The  outposts  on  the  peninsula  east  of  Pearl  lagoon  gained  in 
every  way,  so  that  in  1864  Tasbapauni  (Red  Bank)  could  be 
developed  into  an  independent  station,  Bethania.  Here  Peter 
Blair,  a  native  of  Jamaica,  was  given  charge. 

But  this  mission  also  had  its  trials.  On  the  night  of  October 
18,  1865,  a  terrible  hurricane  swept  the  coast.  At  Bluefields 
only  eight  houses  remained,  and  they  half-ruined.  Of  these 
eight  the  mission-house  was  one.  Church,  school,  kitchen, 
teacher's  residence  and  the  boat-house  were  leveled.  The 
second  "Messenger  of  Peaec" — a  gift  from  England — lay  on  her 
beam  ends,  badly  damaged.  At  Ramah  only  three  houses  re- 
mained besides  the  church  and  mission-house,  and  these  had 
lost  their  roofs.  At  Magdala  the  home  of  the  missionary  was 
shattered  to  pieces.  Bethania  had  been  carried  away  by  a  tidal 
wave,  and  Blair  had  difficulty  in  escaping  by  boat.  Only  one 
solitary  post  showed  where  the  station  had  stood.  At  Joppa 
Hoch  and  his  family  for  weeks  had  no  other  shelter  than  the 
displaced  roof  of  the  church,  which  kept  its  shape  when  it  fell 


MORAVIAN"   MISSIONS.  1 43 

from  the  walls.  The  destruction  of  the  cocoanut  palms  and 
the  devastation  of  the  provision  grounds  rendered  starvation 
a  possibility.  Discontinuance  of  the  mission  was  under  con- 
sideration. But  deep  sympathy  was  aroused  in  the  home  con- 
gregations, and  liberal  gifts  came  in.  Bluefields  church  could 
be  anew  consecrated  in  July,  1867,  and  Ephrata  in  August,  1868. 
The  development  of  the  India  rubber  industry  provided  the 
people  with  a  new  source  of  income.  A  third  "Messenger  of  r-' 
Peace"  was  supplied  by  the  young  people  in  America,  stirred 
by  the  appeals  of  Amadeus  A.  Reinke,  the  former  pioneer. 
Lundberg  was  now  superintendent. 

Surinam  progressed  meanwhile  under  the  wise  and  energetic 
leadership  of  Van  Calker.  New  stations  were  commenced — 
Beersheba  in  1858  at  the  edge  of  a  savannah  near  La  Prosperite 
Estate,  for  the  Para  district,  and  Waterloo  in  the  Nickerie  dis- 
trict and  Clevia  on  the  Lower  Surinam  near  its  confluence  with 
the  Comewyne,  in  1859.  In  the  Bush  Country  on  the  Upper 
Surinam,  a  spirit  of  inquiry  was  spreading,  and  the  labors  of 
Gottlieb,  the  native  assistant  at  Gansee,  and  of  his  two  coad- 
jutors bore  fruit  in  the  application  of  forty  of  their  countrymen 
for  baptism,  by  August,  1861.  By  the  providence  of  God  a 
very  remarkable  movement  was  also  in  its  incipiency. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  1857  a  stranger  made  his  appear- 
ance in  Paramaribo,  declaring  that  God  had  warned  him  through 
dreams  to  come  hither  and  seek  the  truth.  He  was  a  heathen 
Bush-negro,  of  the  Matuari  tribe.  John_Kin2:  by  name.  Hi.> 
mother  had  formerly  lived  in  town,  but  after  the  death  of  her 
parents  the  family  had  removed  to  the  Saramacca  district,  and 
had  lapsed  into  utter  heathenism.  Up  to  manhood  John  King- 
had  been  little  better  than  his  fellows.  Like  them  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  ancestral  fetish  worship  of  Africa,  was  hard- 
ened to  the  debauchery  and  immoralities  and  cruelties  of 
heathenism,  thought  little  of  the  frequently  occurring  fights 
with  poisoned  iron  rings,  was  familiar  with  the  "zvinti"  dance  and 
alleged  witchcraft,  dreaded  the  power  of  the  evil  eve.  and 
trembled  at  the  sight  of  an  old  rag  fluttering  in  a  cleft  stick  that 
had  been  planted  as  "medicine"  before  the  door  of  a  hut.  But 
now  be  wished  to  follow  the  light  that  had  been  given  to  him  in 
dreams.  "In  the  first  of  these  he  saw  a  large,  light  and  beauti- 
ful house,  full  of  people  clothed  in  Avhite  garments  who  were 
heard  singing  so  delightfullv,  that  he  had  never  heard  the  like. 


144  A   HISTORY    OF 

Then  he  saw  a  dismal  building  like  a  jail,  in  the  courtyard  of 
which  an  enormous  fire  was  blazing.  As  he  approached  the  fire 
the  flame  leaped  up  and  touching  him  caused  him  indescriable 
torment.  Near  it  he  beheld  vessels  as  large  as  those  in  the 
boiling  house  of  a  sugar  plantation,  in  which  he  was  told  wicked 
people  were  tormented  in  burning  oil.  In  the  house  itself  he  to 
his  terror  caught  sight  of  the  dark  form  of  the  evil  spirit.  A 
'person  w^ho  showed  him  these  objects  then  desired  him  to  go  and 
tell  his  people  what  he  had  seen  and  what  was  the  lot  of  the 
damned.  With  the  horrible  feeling  that  he  himself  belonged  to 
this  number,  King  followed  his  guide  to  a  river,  into  which  he 
sprang — and  awoke.  When  restored  to  consciousness,  he  was 
almost  beside  himself  with  terror,  trembled  from  head  to 
foot,  and  was  for  some  time  unable  to  rise  from  his 
bed.  Not  until  evening  did  he  regain  sufficient  composure 
to  relate  his  dream  to  those  around  him.  What  he 
stated  filled  his  hearers  with  horror.  A  week  later 
he  dreamed  that  he  was  in  a  church  at  the  door  of 
which  a  man  was  standing  who  said,  'King,  do  you  know  what 
you  ought  to  do?  You  must  have  your  name  set  down  at  the 
church,  for  if  you  abide  by  what  the  heathen  say,  you  will  be 
lost  for  ever.'  "  These  experiences  had  led  him  to  Paramaribo 
as  a  sincere  inquirer  after  the  truth.  Here  he  proved  a  man  of 
singular  capacity  and  endowments — sincere,  energetic,  desirous 
to  learn,  gifted  and  diligent  in  study  and  in  work.  On  August 
II,  1861,  he  was  baptized  in  Paramaribo,  receiving  the  name  of 
John.  Returning  to  his  village  of  Maripastoon,  on  the  Sara- 
macca  in  the  dense  forests  four  days'  journey  beyond  Gansee, 
he  forthwith  commenced  to  labor  as  an  evangelist  amongst  his 
people,  with  the  fervor  of  one  possessed  of  the  conviction  of 
a  direct  call  from  God.  The  results  enforced  his  belief. 
Before  long  his  near  relative,  Adrai,  the  local  chief,  sought  bap- 
tism and  took  the  name  of  Noah,  The  conflict  was  protracted 
and  sometimes  bitter.  King's  Hfe  being  threatened.  But  he 
destroyed  the  rude  temples,  and  threw  the  broken  idols  into  the 
river;  and  in  October,  1865,  Kalkoen,  the  aged  supreme  chief  of 
the  Matuaris,  through  his  ministrations  and  those  of  another 
native  evangelist,  Manasseh,  could  be  baptized  by  Drexler, 
choosing  for  himself  the  name  of  Joshua. 

John   King's   career  now  became   one  of  peculiar  interest. 
Long  journeys  were  undertaken  by  him  in  all  parts  of  Surinam, 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I45 

up  sluggish  and  fever-breeding  streams,  through  the  dense 
jungles  where  white  men  could  not  have  lived.  With  an  utter 
abandon  of  fearlessness  he  braved  the  "zinnti"  men,  and  exposed 
their  follies  and  deceptions.  And  though  these  bHnd  leaders  of 
the  blind,  enraged  at  the  prospect  of  losing  their  occupation, 
conspired  against  him,  he  passed  unscathed,  their  poison  fail- 
ing to  reach  him.  Once  indeed  even  he  fell  a  victim  to  fever; 
but  the  prayers  of  the  brethren  were  heard  for  his  recovery. 
Related  by  birth  to  the  Aukas  (or  Djukas)  as  well  as  to  the 
Matuaris,  he  undertook  an  expedition  to  them  also,  and  pro- 
posed to  guide  the  Brethren  Bramberg  and  Lehman  to  their 
distant  villages.  But  before  the  missionaries  crossed  the 
boundary  of  the  colony  proper,  armed  men  presented  a  hostile 
front,  and  a  reluctant  return  was  the  sole  resource.  By  this 
time  at  Coftycamp,  Gansee,  Goejaba  and  INIaripastoon,  about 
eight  hundred  Bush-negroes  had  been  enrolled  in  the  member- 
ship of  the  church. 

Meantime  momentous  events  had  been  transpiring.  On 
July  I,  1863,  by  royal  proclamation  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  became  an  accomplished  fact  throughout  Surinam. 
According  to  the  terms  of  the  edict  a  ten  years'  apprentice- 
ship was  first  provided  for,  the  choice  of  masters  being  volun- 
tary, and  the  contracts  being  subject  to  governmental  supervi- 
sion. Furthermore  each  ex-slave  was  required  to  declare  him- 
self either  a  Christian  or  a  Jew  in  faith  to  be  entitled  to  the  bene- 
fits of  royal  favor.  About  two-thirds  of  the  entire  slave  popula- 
tion had  already  been  in  connection  with  the  Moravian  Church. 
Hence  this  wide-reaching  measure  specially  concerned  the 
mission.  The  removal  of  the  hindrances  inherent  in  slavery 
was  a  source  of  hearty  joy  to  the  missionaries.  Yet  it  was 
impossible  that  all  the  consequences  of  slavery  could  be  at  once 
eradicated.  The  immorality  and  the  utterly  lax  ethical  concep- 
tions instilled  into  the  slave  race  must  be  a  source  of  trouble 
for  a  generation  at  least.  Marriage  of  slaves  hitherto  received 
no  legal  recognition.  Even  now  the  requirement  that  a  civil 
contract  be  entered  into  before  a  magistrate  if  a  marriage  were 
to  become  valid — a  regulation  involving  considerable  expendi- 
ture of  money — drove  only  too  many  of  the  ex-slaves  into  con- 
nections resembling  concubinage  rather  than  wedlock. 

To  counteract  the  heritage  of  the  past,  special  attention  was 
now  paid  to  the  schools.  Sixteen  of  these  were  being  carried  on 
II 


146  A   HISTORY   OF 

by  the  mission,  with  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  scholars.  To  develop  the  normal  school,  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  capital  in  1866.  In  general,  sudden  expansion  in 
the  number  of  the  adherents  of  the  mission  was  a  result  of 
emancipation.  In  the  city  the  membership  had  grown  to  more 
than  six  thousand;  in  the  entire  colony  it  reached  a  total  of 
24,330  by  the  year  1869.  Discipline  naturally  suffered  in  conse- 
quence, but  the  missionaries  kept  the  old  standard  in  view. 

Of  the  South  African  congregations  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  present  period  it  could  be  said  in  apostolic  language,  "Then 
had  the  churches  rest,  and  were  edified ;  and  walking  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  multi- 
plied." Yet  at  the  beginning  it  seemed  as  though  the  condi- 
tions necessary  to  external  peace  would  be  wanting.  Already 
in  1856  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  secure  the  loyalty  of  the 
Kaffir  chiefs  by  the  payment  of  salaries  in  return  for  the  sur- 
render of  certain  of  their  rights,  became  evident.  A  would-be 
prophet  who  possessed  influence  with  chief  Sandili,  aroused  a 
wave  of  wild  fanaticism  amongst  his  people  by  pretending  that 
if  they  would  follow  his  suggestions  they  should  secure  the  aid 
of  their  departed  ancestors  in  a  war  of  extermination  against 
the  colonists.  The  peculiar  test  to  which  he  put  their  faith, 
was  the  requirement,  that  they  should  unhesitatingly  slay  their 
cattle.  This  act  of  self-sacrifice  complete,  he  bade  them  await 
the  appearance  of  two  blood-red  suns  as  the  heaven-sent  sign 
for  the  promised  success  and  vengeance.  But  the  omen  failed 
to  appear,  though  the  people  obeyed  his  injunction  literally. 
Gaunt  famine  stalked  through  Kaffraria.  Swarms  of  despairing 
beggars  streamed  into  the  colony  and  pitifully  pleaded  for  food. 
This  was  the  only  army  evolved  by  the  delusion.  In  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  country  the  population  was  reduced  to  almost 
one-third.  Hundreds  clamored  for  alms  at  the  mission  sta- 
tions. Shiloh,  for  example,  received  a  permanent  influx  of 
three  hundred  of  these  poor  deluded  refugees.  The  mission- 
aries devised  all  manner  of  labor  that  they  might  not  be 
degraded  by  acknowledged  pauperization.  Warriors  distin- 
guished for  former  prowess  might  be  seen  roaming  through  the 
forests  for  firewood;  others  cut  pliant  osiers  and  wove  them 
into  baskets ; .  others  shouldered  pick  and  shovel  for  the  un- 
wonted labor  of  ditching  and  draining.  One  result  of  these 
experiences  was  the  founding  of  a  new  station,  Engotini,  six 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I47 

miles  distant  on  the  Engoti,  a  tributary  of  the  Oxkraal,  begun 
by  Henry  Meyer,  who  had  come  to  Africa  in  1854.  Under  his 
energetic' leadership  rapid  progress  was  made. 

Meanwhile  another  extension  of  operations  was  to  be  noted 
in  quite  a  different  quarter,  the  Picketberg  range  near  St. 
Helena  Bay,  eighty  or  ninety  miles  north  of  Cape  Town.  Since 
1846  the  little  valley  of  Goedverwacht  had  enjoyed  the  services 
of  a  native  teacher  trained  at  Genadendal,  Joshua  Hardenberg. 
By  the  year  1858  the  work  had  assumed  such  proportions  that 
the  establishment  of  a  regular  station  seemed  imperative.  But 
the  peculiar  history  of  Goedverwacht  precluded  the  formation 
of  the  station  at  the  place  itself.  In  the  year  1810  a  Dutch 
farmer,  Buergers  by  name,  had  purchased  nine  hundred  acres 
of  fertile  valley  in  the  Picketberg,  and  in  time  rendered  his 
estate  a  garden  spot  through  the  well  directed  labor  of  his  Hot- 
tentot slaves.  Here  he  lived  in  comfort  until  disturbed  by 
rumors  of  impending  emancipation.  To  keep  his  slaves  about 
him  in  this  emergency,  he  selected  six  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  faithful,  and  made  an  extraordinary  proposal  to  them.  If 
they  solemnly  covenanted  to  faithfully  serve  and  care  for  him 
so  long  as  he  lived,  he  would  bequeath  his  entire  property  to 
them.  They  readily  agreed.  He  therefore  drew  up  his  last 
testament,  bequeathing  his  land  to  the  six  jointly,  with  the  pro- 
viso that  it  should  not  be  sold  until  the  death  of  the  last  of  the 
six.  Emancipation  came  on  December  i,  1834.  They  re- 
mained true  to  their  pledge.  Mr.  Buergers  himself  died  in 
1843,  ^^'^  the  once  despised  Hottentots  became  the  joint  owners 
of  a  fine  piece  of  property.  Hither  their  relatives  gradually 
removed,  till  there  arose  a  village  of  about  five  hundred  souls. 
It  was  in  response  to  a  request  made  by  these  people  that  the 
church  sent  a  teacher  to  them  in  1846.  But  the  uncertainty  of 
the  tenure  of  the  land,  contingent  as  it  was  upon  the  lives  of  the 
six  ex-slaves,  suggested  the  purchase  by  the  mission  of  the 
neighboring  farm  of  Wittewater  as  the  actual  site  of  the  station, 
Goedverwacht  being  served  in  conjunction  with  it. 

Two  deaths  saddened  the  friends  of  the  African  mission,  that 
of  Daniel  Suhl,  the  principal  of  the  normal  school,  on  April  30, 
1858,  and  that  of  Charles  Rudolph  Kolbing,  the  superintendent 
of  the  mission,  on  December  28,  i860.  Both  had  rendered 
valuable  services ;  and  the  former  left  the  school  in  such  a  con- 
dition that  the  enlargement  of  its  accommodations  was  a  neces- 


148  A    HISTORY    OF 

sity.  Three  of  its  graduates  were  now  serving  as  assistant  mis- 
sionaries ;  fifteen  were  filling  posts  as  teachers  in  schools  of 
their  own  and  sixteen  in  schools  of  sister  churches.  Benno 
Marx  succeeded  to  the  vacant  ofifice.  Now  special  attention 
was  paid  to  the  operation  of  a  printing  press  by  the  students. 
De  Bode,  a  missionary  periodical  in  the  Dutch  language,  and 
De  Kinder  Vricnd,  for  children,  were  issued  at  stated  intervals; 
and  a  commencement  was  made  in  1861  with  the  publication 
of  parts  of  the  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  translated  into  the 
Kaffir  tongue.  Frederick  William  Kiihn  received  the  oversight 
of  the  mission  as  a  whole,  to  be  succeeded  in  his  turn  by  Ferdi- 
nand Bechler  in  1865,  when  elected  a  member  of  the  Mission 
Board  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Bishop  Cunow. 

Meantime  an  advance  was  made  into  Kafifraria,  at  the  request 
of  government.  John  Henry  Hartmann  and  Richard  Baur 
advanced  by  ox-wagon  into  the  Tambookie  country  eight  or 
nine  days  from  Shiloh,  and  found  at  Baziya  a  spot  suitable  for 
the  commencement  of  a  mission  in  the  land  of  Chief  Joyi,  which 
Baur  and  his  wife  proceeded  to  occupy.  The  gradual  advance 
into  heathen  Kafifraria  lent  special  importance  to  a  conference 
of  missionaries  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  eastern  group  of 
stations,  held  at  Shiloh  from  February  18  to  20,  1863 — a  first 
step  in  the  direction  of  separation  into  a  distinct  missionary 
province. 

But  in  1863  a  sudden  calamity  gave  a  temporary  check  to  the 
work  in  Kaffraria.  Hitherto  South  Africa  had  been  remark- 
ably free  from  tornadoes,  so  far  as  the  experience  of  the  mis- 
sionaries was  concerned.  Towards  sunset  on  the  evening  of 
September  28  a  cyclone  struck  Baziya  without  any  warning. 
In  a  few  seconds  the  mission-house  was  completely  destroyed. 
But  miraculously  Baur  and  his  family  crept  from  the  ruins  un- 
hurt, save  for  minor  bruises.  Parts  of  the  house  were  found  a 
mile  away.  The  missionary's  wagon  had  been  broken  in  two 
and  one  half  carried  one  hundred  yards.  Other  articles  were 
found  two  to  three  miles  away.  A  temporary  refuge  was 
secured  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Gordon,  the  Anglican  missionary 
at  All  Saints',  about  half  a  day's  journey  distant,  until  Baziya 
could  again  be  made  habitable. 

The  year  1867  finally  marked  an  involuntary  withdrawal  from 
a  sphere  of  activity.  With  the  retirement  of  Kiister  and  his 
wife  from  missionary  service  the  care  of  the  hospital  for  lepers 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  1 49 

on  Robben  Island,  their  latest  charge,  at  the  desire  of  govern- 
ment passed  from  the  Moravian  to  the  Anglican  Church.  Thus 
the  forty-five  years'  ministration  to  these  poor  sufferers  in 
Africa  tame  to  an  end.  All  the  more  opportune,  therefore, 
•was  the  overture  received  about  this  time  from  Baroness 
Keffenbrink-Ascheraden  in  respect  to  the  founding  of  a  similar 
institution  at  Jerusalem. 

Long  ago  it  has  been  said  that  "failures  are  with  heroic  minds 
stepping-stones  to  success."  This  was  exemplified  in  connec- 
tion with  the  mission  in  Australia.  In  May,  1858,  Moravian 
missionaries  were  again  at  Melbourne,  Spieseke,  who  had  pro- 
tested against  the  former  retreat,  being  accompanied  by  Fred- 
erick Augustus  Hagenauer.  Sir  Henry  Barkly,  the  new  Gover- 
nor, and  the  Bishop  of  Melbourne  lent  their  support.  It  was 
proposed  by  the  former  that  the  missionaries  should  now  begin 
operations  in  the  Wimmera  District,  a  fairly  watered  tract  and 
unlikely  to  become  the  scene  of  serious  difficulties  with  the 
colonists.  In  accordance  with  this  advice  a  site  was  fixed  upon 
near  Antwerp,  a  station  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Ellerman,  who  gave 
the  mission  a  section  of  his  land  and  manifested  continuous 
sympathy  with  the  undertaking.  The  new  mission  received  the 
name  of  Ebenezer.  For  a  considerable  time  the  only  hopeful 
sign  was  the  willingness  of  some  of  the  people  to  give  up  their 
nomadic  habits.  Souls  they  scarcely  seemed  to  have.  If  any 
race  resembled  the  driest  of  the  dry  bones  seen  by  Ezekiel,  this 
was  the  one.  But  by  and  by  to  the  amazement  of  their  country- 
men two  of  them,  Bony  and  Pepper,  young  men,  began  to  build 
something  of  a  house  in  imitation  of  the  one  occupied  by  the 
missionaries.  Nevertheless  there  did  not  as  yet  appear  the 
faintest  trace  of  interest  in  their  message  or  of  longing  for  sal- 
vation. For  weary  months  it  was  a  scattering  of  precious  seed 
on  bare  rocks.  The  ingrained  habit  of  begging,  especially  for 
tobacco,  was  a  source  of  annoyance.  Grossly  material  interests 
alone  appealed  to  the  blackfellows.  Feuds  often  led  to  strife. 
Once  Spieseke  was  in  imminent  danger.  Spears  and  boom- 
erangs were  already  flying.  The  women  and  children  had  fled 
or  had  taken  to  the  trees.  In  a  moment's  intermission  of  strife 
he  threw  himself  between  the  hostile  parties,  now  forty  or  fifty 
paces  apart.  For  a  time  it  appeared  as  though  his  life  would 
be  the  penalty.  But  calm,  decided  courage  won  the  day,  and 
peace  was  restored. 


150  A    HISTORY    OF 

Suddenly  in  the  midst  of  all  that  was  unpromising,  the  story 
of  Kajarnak  received  its  counterpart.  It  is  January  17,  i860. 
Hagenauer  is  absent,  and  Spieseke  is  showing  to  a  group  of 
savages  pictures  illustrating  Scripture  history.  Now  one  is 
shown  of  a  man  kneeling  in  great  distress,  in  a  garden.  An 
agony  is  on  his  brow.  "What  is  that  ?  Show  me  that  again !" 
asks  one  of  the  group.  "Pepper,"  says  the  missionary,  "that  is 
Jesus.  He  weeps ;  he  is  in  great  sorrow,  and  He  weeps  for 
thee,  Pepper,"  It  is  told  over  and  over  again ;  and  the  thought 
of  the  suffering  Saviour  in  Gethsemane  awakens  the  long 
slumbering  soul  in  the  Australian  savage.  Hagenauer  on  re- 
turning recognizes  that  Pepper's  interested  question  only  con- 
firms signs  of  an  inner  working  of  the  Spirit  that  have  already 
been  somewhat  perceptible  to  him.  One  Sunday  when  he  is 
riding  back  from  a  distant  appointment,  one  of  the  missionaries 
comes  upon  this  same  Pepper,  preaching  the  Christ  he  has  just 
found  and  only  half  knows  to  a  company  of  about  fifty  asso- 
ciates. He  is  now  given  special  instruction,  and  on  August  12, 
T.S6o,  is  baptized,  receiving  the  name  Nathanael.  On  the  same 
day  the  church  at  Ebenezer  is  dedicated.  Gradually  it  became 
evident  that  the  dry  bones  could  be  clothed  with  flesh  and  sinew, 
could  receive  a  new  heart  and  be  filled  with  the  inbreathing  of 
the  divine  Spirit.  Here  progress  was  more  rapid  amongst  the 
men  than  the  women.  Gradually  the  old  terrible  customs 
began  to  disappear,  and  the  place  commenced  to  assume  the 
aspect  of  a  neat  village,  good  houses  with  nice  gardens  taking 
the  place  of  the  wretched  heaps  of  bark-covered  sticks.  The 
"Mallee"  gave  place  to  fields.  Christian  family  life  was  under- 
stood and  appreciated.  The  school  worked  marvellous  changes 
amongst  the  young. 

Meantime  the  initial  success  encouraged  friends  in  Mel- 
bourne, and  led  the  Presbyterian  Assembly  of  Australia  to  offer 
to  supply  the  money  for  the  establishment  of  another  station, 
if  the  Moravian  Church  would  furnish  the  men.  The  proposal 
was  accepted.  New  recruits  were  sent  out  to  the  mission,  and 
Hagenauer  was  appointed  to  explore  Gippsland.  On  a  reserve 
near  Lake  Wellington  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Avon  a  new  post 
was  founded  in  1863,  Ramahyuk,  that  is  in  the  blackfellows' 
tongue,  "Ramah,  our  home."  Here  the  first  convert,  James 
Matthews,  was  baptized  in  1866.  A  vigorous  school  soon  be- 
came characteristic  of  the  place. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  Ijl 

Similar  success,  however,  was  not  vouchsafed  to  a  third 
attempt  in  the  wilderness  eight  hundred  miles  northwest  of 
Ebenezer,  near  Cooper's  Creek,  whither  the  Brethren  Walder, 
Meissel  and  Kramer  were  sent  in  1866.  Efforts  put  forth  at 
Lake  Koi)peramanna.  forty  miles  west  of  Lake  Hope,  had  to  be 
abandoned,  owing  to  severe  drought  which  scattered  the  blacks 
and  compelled  neighboring  settlers  to  leave  their  sheep-runs. 
Furthermore  the  missionary  association  at  Melbourne  found  it 
difficult  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  mission.  The  three  mis- 
sionaries were  therefore  transferred  elsewhere.  Yet  another 
point  was  also  occupied  by  William  Julius  Kiihn,  namely, 
Yorke's  Peninsula,  about  one  hundred  miles  west-northwest  of 
Adelaide ;  but  after  varying  success  the  missionary  passed  into 
the  service  of  another  church. 

Whilst  Ebenezer  and  Ramahyuk  advanced  in  numbers  and 
various  industries  gave  employment — sheep-raising  at  the 
former  and  the  cultivation  of  arrowroot  at  the  latter — it  soon 
became  evident  that  the  church  had  been  called  to  minister 
beside  the  death-bed  of  a  race.  The  weaknesses  inherited  from 
generations  steeped  in  unchecked  vice  had  sapped  the  vitaHty 
of  the  people.  Consumption  and  kindred  diseases  were  almost 
universal.     Births  were  few  in  proportion  to  the  marriages. 

When  ignorance  and  conceit  are  amalgamated  and  fashioned 
into  weapons  of  offence  and  defence  they  present  an  almost 
invincible  front — invincible  save  by  the  grace  of  God.  This  the 
missionaries  on  the  western  Himala3'as  for  years  experienced. 
The  opposition  was  one  of  supreme  indifference  and  contempt. 
Outside  of  Chinese  Tibet,  Pagell  and  Heyde  and  Jaeschke 
might  go  where  they  pleased  without  hindrance.  Buddhist 
monasteries  might  be  invaded,  and  the  folly  of  idolatry  de- 
nounced under  the  shadow  of  prayer-mills  and  within  the  sight 
of  shrines  wreathed  in  incense,  and  yet  no  angry  demonstra- 
tions be  called  forth — only  dull  scorn.  Conviction  of  sin  seemed 
impossible  where  the  very  conception  of  the  actual  nature  of 
sin  was  lacking,  so  distorted  was  the  mind  and  so  benumbed 
the  conscience  of  priests  and  people.  It  was  often  difficult  even 
to  gather  an  audience.  If  a  village  were  entered  in  the  course 
of  a  missionary  tour,  the  people  remained  in  their  houses,  to 
which  the  missionary  had  no  access.  If  the  weather  permitted, 
the  householders  might  be  on  the  flat  roofs.  Then,  the  house 
door  being  fastened,  the  stranger  must  needs  boldly  mount  up 


152  A    HISTORY   OF 

by  a  ladder  outside.  Possibly  the  people  would  meanwhile 
vanish.  If  they  remained,  he  must  be  content  to  hear  the  invi- 
tation passed  on  to  gather  for  the  performance  of  the  "tadmo," 
i.  e.,  juggler,  merry-andrew,  clown.  A  "holy"  man  will  say  to 
him :  "Your  religion  is  good  perhaps ;  but  you  do  not  fear  sin." 
"How  so?"  the  surprised  missionary  replies.  "You  kill  sheep." 
On  his  trying  to  prove  that  God  has  not  forbidden  this,  and  on 
his  retorting  that  the  Buddhist  himself  eats  mutton  when  he 
can  get  it,  the  latter  will  say:  "Yes,  but  I  kill  nothing,  not  even 
the  merest  insect."  "But  you  let  others  do  the  killing  for  you." 
"That  may  be ;  but  then  only  half  the  sin  is  mine.  Besides  I 
acknowledge  and  repent  of  my  sins  in  the  evening  of  each  day 
on  which  I  have  eaten  flesh." 

In  October,  1859,  the  arrival  of  their  brides  from  Germany 
gladdens  the  hearts  of  these  lonely  men,  and  they  can  begin  to 
enjoy  some  of  the  comforts  of  home  life.  Previous  to  this  they 
have  begun  to  employ  a  new  method  of  making  known  their 
message.  A  lithographic  press  has  been  set  up,  and  a  Tibetan, 
Sodnom  Stobkyes,  who  has  been  in  their  employ  for  some  years, 
proves  an  adept  at  handling  it.  Thus  Jaeschke  begins  to  dis- 
seminate his  translation  of  the  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  Copies 
can  be  sent  into  the  great  closed  land,  Chinese  Tibet,  by  means 
of  traders  who  come  over  the  passes  with  their  packages  of  salt 
fastened  to  the  backs  of  sheep. 

In  1865  Pagell  and  his  wife  establish  a  second  station  at  Poo, 
in  Kunawur,  in  the  valley  of  the  Sutlej,  and  nearer  to  the  border 
which  they  wish  to  cross.  Jaeschke,  who  will  henceforth  devote 
himself  to  the  work  of  translation,  is  succeeded  as  superinten- 
dent by  Theodore  Rechler.  But  most  noteworthy  of  all  is  the 
gleam  of  hope  in  the  baptism  of  Sodnom  Stobkyes  and  his  son 
Joldan  on  October  11.  In  March  of  the  following  year  their 
example  is  followed  by  two  other  men,  and  later  by  the  wives 
of  these  last.  Jaeschke's  labor  bears  fruit  in  the  publication  of 
the  gospel  of  St.  Matthew  in  Tibetan  by  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society.  But  ill-health  and  the  complete  undermining  of 
his  wife's  constitution  necessitate  his  return  to  Europe  in  the 
following  year.  His  translation  of  the  New  Testament  must 
be  completed  there. 

Meantime  an  unexpected  opening  offered  itself.  Small-pox 
was  making  fearful  ravages  in  Chinese  Thibet.  Whole  families 
had  died  out.     In  their  extremity  the  people  of  Tso-Tso,  one 


r- 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONS.  153 

of  the  western  provinces,  sent  for  Pagell  to  stay  the  scourge 
by  vaccination.  Although  in  bed  from  sickness  at  the  time  the 
cry  for  help  reached  him,  he  regarded  it  as  a  providential  sum- 
mons, and  set  out  over  the  passes  scarcely  free  from  snow. 
Nevertheless  the  officials  had  no  intention  of  permitting  his 
planting  the  gospel  within  the  territory  of  the  Dalai  Lama. 
After  he  had  vaccinated  six  hundred  and  thirty-nine  persons, 
he  was  compelled  to  return.  Not  wholly  disheartened  by  the 
inhibition  of  missionary  labor  in  Tibet,  Pagell  persevered  at 
Poo,  and  on  December  15,2868,  baptized  his  first  convert  there, 
Baldan,  now  named  Joseph.  At  Kyelang  also  a  few  others 
were  added  to  the  little  church.  Now  the  mission  had  reached 
the  stage  when  indiflferent  tolerance  passed  into  sharply  accen- 
tuated hostility.     The  converts  were  ostracized. 


154  A   HISTORY   OF 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE   FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    FROM    1869   TO    1879. 

Significant  of  the  place  which  the  missions  had  come  to- 
assume  in  the  Hfe  of  the  church  were  the  dedication  in  Septem- 
ber, 1871,  of  the  home  for  missionaries  on  furlough  at  Klein- 
welke,  in  Saxony,  erected  by  voluntary  gifts,  and  the  presenta- 
tion to  the  church  of  the  "Whitefield  House"  at  Nazareth,  in 
Pennsylvania,  designed  for  a  similar  purpose,  and  as  the  per- 
manent residence  of  retired  missionary  couples,  the  gift,  also 
in  1871,  of  John  Jordan,  jr.,  of  Philadelphia. 

Although  the  balance  sheet  presented  to  the  synod  of  1879 
disclosed  a  deficit  of  $23,570,  there  was  good  reason  to  thank 
God  and  take  courage.  To  thoughtful  minds  such  a  deficit 
emphasized  the  truth  that  the  task  of  evangelizing  the  heathen 
world  is  and  must  remain  for  the  Brethren's  Church  a  work  of 
faith,  a  providential  provocation  to  renewed  fidelity  and  yet 
more  strenuous  effort.  This  conviction  was  deepened  by  the 
action  of  the  synod.  After  a  searching  investigation  it  declared 
that  the  causes  of  the  repeated  deficits  in  the  accounts  of  the 
foreign  missions  "lie  neither  in  defective  administration  at  home 
nor  in  inconsiderate  extension  in  the  field  itself.  They  rather 
lie  in  the  considerable  decrease  in  legacies  received,  and  especi- 
ally in  the  general  embarrassment  of  business  vvrhich  shows  itself 
in  a  decided  lowering  of  direct  contributions  and  in  the  lessen- 
ing of  the  profits  of  industries  carried  on  in  various  mission- 
provinces  in  behalf  of  the  work.  In  addition  larger  demands 
have  been  made  upon  the  mission  treasury  for  the  pensioning 
and  educational  accounts — and  here  the  administration  dare 
not  abridge." 

In  Greenland  it  had  been  a  very  trying  decade  for  Henry 
Kogel,  superintendent  since  1871,  and  for  his  associates. 
Despite  the  work  of  the  two  normal  schools,  at  New  Herrnhut 
and  Lichtenau,  very  little  advance  had  been  achieved  in  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  155 

direction  of  self-dependence.  A  veritable  army  of  misfortunes, 
officered  by  influenza  and  pleurisy  and  other  diseases,  had  swept 
up  and  down  the  coast  in  the  winters  of  1871  to  1872  and  of 
1875  to  1876.  Poor  Friedrichsthal,  thus  far  the  largest  and 
richest  of  the  congregations,  had  especially  suffered.  Once  its 
four  hundred  and  sixty-nine  people  had  been  wont  to  bring  to 
the  Royal  Trading-post  one  thousand  three  hundred  barrels  of 
seal  oil  in  a  season.  After  the  disastrous  winter  of  1871  only 
eight  seal-catchers  were  left,  only  five  boats  could  be  manned, 
and  out  of  twenty-three  boys  in  the  school  only  three  had 
fathers  living.  Of  those  who  had  died  six  were  male  "helpers" 
and  five  female  "helpers,"  a  severe  loss  to  the  mission,  as  it  was 
not  easy  to  find  persons  suitably  quaHfied  for  the  position. 
Missionaries  and  traders  had  to  come  to  the  relief  of  the  widows 
and  orphans  in  a  most  liberal  manner. 

By  this  time  every  station  and  out-station  had  its  school. 
Every  child  connected  with  the  mission  acquired  the  ability  to 
at  least  read,  and  the  majority  also  to  write  and  to  cipher  as 
well  as  to  memorize  Biblical  history.  The  girls  learnt  sewing 
and  the  arts  of  feminine  handiwork. 

In  1871  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  the  Greenlandic  Scrip- 
ture History  was  issued,  and  in  1878  a  similarly  improved  edi- 
tion of  the  Hymn  Book.  In  1873  a  Catechism,  in  1876  a  song 
book  for  schools,  with  notes;  and  in  1877  and  1879  volumes  of 
sermons  for  the  use  of  "helpers"  at  the  out-stations,  were  wel- 
come additions  to  the  literature  of  the  language.  Kleinschmidt 
also  prepared  a  dictionary,  and  labored  at  a  revised  translation 
of  the  Scriptures. 

In  Labrador  extension  continued  to  be  the  goal.  The 
attempt  of  Samuel  Weitz  at  Nachvak  had  been  frustrated  by  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  and  the  house  erected  there  had  to  be 
temporarily  abandoned.  But  in  1871  the  determined  mis- 
sionary with  his  devoted  wife  and  Adolphus  Hlavatschek — the 
latter  to  superintend  the  trade — were  willing  to  go  once  more 
to  the  far  north.  They  selected  Nullatatok  Bay,  a  natural, 
land-locked  harbor,  sixty  miles  north  of  Hebron,  surrounded 
by  dizzy,  snow-capped  crags.  The  waters  of  the  bay  extend 
inland  about  four  miles,  and  the  entrance  is  almost  barred  by 
a  majestic  cliff  beetling  up  precipitously  a  thousand  feet  above 
the  surf.  A  beach  about  five  hundred  yards  long  by  three 
hundred  wide  forms  the  only  available  site  for  dwellings.     Here, 


156  A    HISTORY    OF 

with  a  lake-like  expanse  of  blue  water  before  them,  the  mis- 
sionary party  speedily  put  up  the  little  one-roomed  house  which 
was  at  first  to  serve  as  residence,  school  and  church.  Later 
the  abandoned  dwelling  at  Nachvak  should  be  removed  hither. 
Only  two  families  of  heathen  now  lived  at  Nullatatok.  But 
with  the  founding  of  Ramah,  as  they  named  the  new  post,  it 
was  hoped  that  in  time  the  nomadic  savages  would  be  induced 
to  cluster  here.  In  any  case  it  was  felt  to  be  the  true  way  to 
commemorate  a  mission  jubilee,  by  pushing  forward  into  the 
"regions  beyond."  On  October  11,  1875,  the  first  reward  of 
this  bold  faith  came  in  the  baptism  of  Kangersaut  (Boaz), 
Salome  and  Mary  and  two  children. 

For    Theodore    Bourquin,    superintendent    of    this    mission 
province,  the  years  were  full  of  cares.      His  own  health  and 
that  of  his  wife  necessitated  a  return  to  Europe  for  a  furlough 
in  1871.     On  resuming  his  duties  he  was  compelled  to  deal  with 
a  very  difficult  situation.     This  arose  from  the  unavoidable  con- 
nection of  the  mission  with  trade.     From  almost  the  inception 
of  the  work  in  Labrador  this  had  been  carried  on  for  a  variety 
of  reasons — not  to  make  profits  as  a  main  purpose,  but  that 
the  comforts  and  sometimes  the  necessaries  of  life  might  be 
procured  by  the  natives  without  their  being  at  the  mercy  of 
conscienceless    speculators,    whose    transient    visits    moreover 
inevitably  produced  demoralizing  results,  and  that  the  effort  to 
advance  the  people  in  the  scale  of  civilization  might  be  facili- 
tated by  their  being  furnished  an  opportunity  to  dispose  of  the 
products  of  their  industry  at  fair  rates.     Besides  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  vessel  afforded  the  mission  its  only  sure  connection 
with  Europe.     But  in  the  case  of  people  with  a  disposition  hke 
that  of  the  Eskimo,  their  two-fold  relationship  to  the  Euro- 
peans as  their  religious  teachers  and  the  purveyors  of  their 
external  comforts,  afforded  occasion  for  misunderstandings  and 
mistrust.     In  seasons  of  scarcity  they  would  expect  to  obtain 
credit  at  the  stores,  and  humanity  compelled  the  granting  of 
supplies  to  refuse  which  would  mean  direst  want.      But  that 
obligations  thus  incurred  must  be  repaid  in  the  case  of  the  able- 
bodied  in  seasons  of  plenty,  was  a  conception  not  so  readily 
apprehended  or  assented  to  by  the  Eskimo.      The  difificulties 
which  thus   arose  led  to  a  complete   separation  between  the 
spiritual  and  the  temporal  administration  at  each  settlement  in 
the  year  1866.     Men  were  sent  out  from  Europe  or  henceforth 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 57 

exclusively  charged  with  a  commission  to  act  as  traders,  to 
whom  no  spiritual  duties  were  assigned;  and  henceforth  the 
missionaries  were  to  have  no  other  relationship  to  the  people 
than  that  involved  in  their  spiritual  office.  For  a  few  years  all 
went  well.  But  disaffection  did  not  wholly  cease.  Nor  did 
discontent  end  in  murnmrings.  On  March  28,  1873,  when 
Charles  Adolphus  Slotta  was  busy  in  the  store  at  Okak,  a  man 
suddenly  and  without  warning  attacked  him  and  threw  him 
down.  The  natives  who  were  present  failed  to  interpose,  and 
ran  out.  No  serious  injury  was  inflicted.  The  store  was 
closed,  and  business  suspended,  until  the  culprit  voluntarily 
withdrew  from  Okak  and  his  fellow  countrymen  besought  that 
it  might  be  reopened. 

Next  winter  there  was  scarcity  at  several  places— no  seals, 
very  few  foxes,  few  ptarmigans,  little  fresh  meat.     At  Nain 
influenza  appeared  in  autumn.     A  number  of  thefts  occurred, 
attributed  to   the   stringency   of  the   times.     William   Haugk, 
the  store-keeper  shut  the  door,  and  put  up  the  shutters,  and 
declared  that  business  would  not  be  resumed  till  the  stolen  arti- 
cles  had  been  returned.     This   measure  failed  of  the   desired 
effect,  but  led  to  the  holding  of  a  mass  meeting  by  the  Eskimos 
on  December  22.     It  lasted  for  three  hours  and  was  tumultuous 
in  the  extreme.     Even  the  "helpers"  acted  with  the  turbulent. 
Happily  the  celebration  of  Christmas  brought  most  of  the  law- 
less to  their  senses;  many  of  them  expressed  their  penitence, 
and  the  way  was  now  open  for  negotiations  looking  toward  a 
readjustment  of  affairs  by  Samuel  Bindschedler,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  trade  and  chief  agent  of  the  Society  for  Propa- 
gating the  Gospel.     Reconciliation  was  effected.     The  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Communion  on  January  17  was  characterized 
by  deep  solemnity.     But  alas !  the  feelings  of  the  natives  carried 
them  into  fanaticism  and  worse.     Such  an  outburst  took  place 
a  few  days  later  as  would  have  been  thought  impossible  in  the 
case  of  the  phlegmatic  Eskimos.     The  ringleader  in  what  fol- 
lowed was  the  man  who  had  been  most  outspoken  in  connec- 
tion with  the  lawlessness  of  December.         At  an  assembly  held 
in  the  house  of  this  man  an  actual  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  claimed  to  have  been  experienced.     "A  post  in  the  house 
was  worshipped  as  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  the  Eskimos  were 
fetched  in  from  neighboring  houses  that  they  might  kneel  before 
it.     The  leaders  then  breathed  upon  their  hands  folded  on  their 


158  A    HISTORY    OF 

breasts,  thus  imparting  to  them  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  also  travestied."  Next  day  the 
missionaries  had  to  rescue  a  woman  from  the  murderous 
assault  of  her  husband,  who  was  deluded  with  the  belief  that 
she  was  possessed  by  a  devil.  It  was  a  critical  hour  for  the 
mission  at  Okak,  But  God  heard  his  servants'  prayers.  The 
extravagances  vanished  as  suddenly  as  they  had  appeared. 
Further  disturbances  were  attempted  by  the  ringleader  in  the 
trouble,  but  his  former  associates  silenced  him.  A  welcome 
calm  ensued. 

All  these  experiences  rendered  a  visit  by  a  number  of  the 
Mission  Board  desirable.  Bishop  Levin  Theodore  Reichel,  in 
spite  of  his  weight  of  years,  undertook  the  delicate  task,  being 
especially  qualified  by  his  former  visit  to  Labrador.  His  efforts 
during  the  summer  of  1876  were  instrumental  in  restoring  confi- 
dence on  the  part  of  the  people,  whom  he  exhorted  to  sobriety 
in  thought  and  act,  to  careful  thrift  and  diligence.  The  regu- 
lations with  reference  to  the  trade  were  revised,  with  a  partial 
return  to  the  arrangements  which  obtained  prior  to  1866. 

The  visitor  was  gratified  to  observe  signs  of  advance  in  civili- 
zation during  the  period  since  his  former  coming  to  Labrador. 
Two  stations  had  been  added.  At  the  various  missions  the  old 
sod-huts  were  disappearing,  log  houses  taking  their  place. 
Neatness  and  order  appeared  within.  Hunting  was  on  the 
decline,  but  fishing  was  improving.  Skin-canoes  were  being 
replaced  by  fishing-smacks.  The  number  of  dogs,  the  all  im- 
portant means  of  transportation  in  winter,  had  more  than 
trebled.  Family  life  supplanted  the  ancient  herding  of  the 
people  in  the  overcrowded  hovels  of  former  days.  Education 
was  making  progress,  and  natives  were  able  to  serve  as  school- 
masters. All  this  rendered  the  publication  of  the  Scriptures 
the  more  opportune.  Thanks  to  aid  given  by  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  Erdmann's  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament  from  Joshua  to  the  Song  of  Solomon  had  been 
issued  in  1870  and  1871 ;  and  Bourquin's  revision  of  the  Eskimo 
New  Testament  came  out  in  1878.  Besides  a  Catechism  and  a 
revised  edition  of  the  Hymn-book  and  a  text-book  for  instruc- 
tion in  geography  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

Amongst  the  important  transactions  of  the  general  synod  of 
1869  not  the  least  important  had  been  the  series  of  resolutions 
to  provide  for  the  gradual  emergence  of  the  West  Indian  con- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  159 

gregations  from  the  status  of  missions,  so  that  they  might  con- 
stitute a  fourth  federated  province  of  the  Brethren's  Unity. 
Loyally  the  missionaries  and  their  people  accepted  and  re- 
sponded to  the  demands  thus  made  upon  them  by  the  church. 
Yet  neither  well-informed  observers,  nor  the  workers  in  the 
field  itself  overlooked  the  fact,  that  islands  where  considerable 
illiteracy,  the  superstitions  of  Africa,  the  dark  practices  of 
obeahism  and  poisoning  and  very  lax  conceptions  of  personal 
morality  still  abounded  could  not  be  spoken  of  in  the  same 
breath  with  lands  where  inherited  tendencies  of  generations, 
that  had  known  nothing  else  than  the  Christian  standard  of 
ethics  and  that  had  enjoyed  ample  facilities  for  enhghtenment, 
made  for  at  least  the  appearance  of  godUness  as  persistently  as 
the  West  Indian  environment  made  for  the  contrary.  In  one 
sense  the  West  Indies  must  remain  mission  ground  for  decades, 
even  though  no  longer  a  field  for  missions  exclusively  amongst 
utter  pagans. 

Providential  circumstances  interfered  sorely  with  the  solution 
of  the  financial  problem  of  self-support,  particularly  in  the 
Eastern  islands.  Retrogression  in  the  general  economic  con- 
dition was  produced  by  earthquakes  and  tornadoes — Antigua 
and  St.  Thomas,  for  example,  experiencing  a  hurricane  in 
August,  1871,  which  involved  a  loss  of  $10,000  to  mission  prop- 
erty, and  damage  to  sugar  estates  from  which  it  took  years  to 
recover — protracted  and  repeated  seasons  of  drought  that 
caused  abandonment  of  estates  now  become  unproductive,  with 
lack  of  employment  for  very  many. 

Nevertheless  steps  were  taken  towards  self-dependence.  One 
important  measure  was  the  founding  of  a  theological  seminary 
at  Fairfield,  in  Jamaica,  in  1876.  Walter  L.  G.  Badham,  at  the 
same  time  Principal  of  the  normal  school,  took  charge.  A 
two  years'  course  of  studies  was  pursued.  The  normal  school 
for  females  at  Bethabara,  and  its  counterpart  in  St.  John's,  An- 
tigua, continued  to  render  valuable  services.  That  for  young 
men  at  Cedar  Hall,  on  the  other  hand,  was  abandoned  in  1871. 
The  Mico  Institution  was  open  to  members  of  all  denomina- 
tions, and  its  excellent  equipment  rendered  it  needless  to  main- 
tain the  similar  school  of  the  church. 

In  1872  Abraham  Lichtenthaeler  retired  from  active  service. 
He  was  succeeded  as  superintendent  in  Jamaica  by  Edwin  E. 
Reinke.       In  the  same  year  the  venerable   Bishop  Westerby 


l6o  A   HISTORY   OF 

closed  his  long  period  of  oversight  in  Antigua — thirty-eight 
years. 

The  migration  of  West  Indians  to  Demerara  now  caused  an 
extension  of  the  missionary  activity  to  this  South  American 
colony.  The  proprietor  of  the  extensive  Eel  Air  estate,  Mr. 
Quintin  Hogg,  well  known  for  his  philanthropy  in  connection 
with  the  Polytechnic  Institute  in  London,  desired  the  services 
of  a  Moravian  missionary  for  his  employes,  and  offered  to  pro- 
vide the  salaries  of  a  missionary  and  of  an  assistant,  who  should 
serve  as  school-master,  for  five  years.  After  visits  by  Henry 
Moore,  a  native  minister  in  Barbados,  in  company  with  the 
superintendent  of  the  mission  on  that  island,  James  Y.  Edgehill, 
the  offer  was  accepted.  In  October,  1878,  Moore,  with  Alex- 
ander Pilgrim  as  his  assistant,  left  for  Georgetown.  Services 
were  commenced  early  in  November  at  Cumming's  Lodge. 

In  addition  to  the  direct  opposition  of  the  "sukias"  and  the 
difficulties  inseparable  from  missionary  effort  amongst  nomadic 
savages  of  the  tropics,  on  the  Moskito  coast  indirect  hindrances 
were  now  caused  by  the  uncertain  political  status  of  the  country. 
Enlarging  intercourse  with  traders,  who  exchanged  gin  and  rum 
and  brandy  for  the  valuable  india-rubber  of  the  Indians,  further 
ministered  to  the  positive  corruption  of  many. 

Fevers  are  never  wholly  absent  from  this  swampy  tropical 
land.  Hence  changes  in  personnel  were  frequent,  and  were  the 
more  unfortunate  since  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  Moskito  syn- 
tax and  of  the  Indian  love  of  metaphors  could  not  be  acquired 
in  a  day.  It  was  this  partial  lack  of  men  which  measurably 
accounted  for  the  abandonment  of  Joppa,  on  Corn  Island,  in 
1871.  Its  few  people  had  gladly  looked  to  the  missionaries  for 
medical  aid,  but  manifested  marked  indifference  to  their  mes- 
sage. On  the  more  populous  mainland  the  readiness  to  receive 
the  word  claimed  the  services  of  all  available  men.  Yet  Corn 
Island  was  not  altogether  deserted.  In  the  same  year  in  which 
Joppa  was  given  up,  a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  from  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, came  to  the  Moskito  Coast  to  do  missionary  work,  and 
settled  at  Quamwatla,  a  small  village  on  the  shore  of  a  little 
lake  drained  by  a  tributary  of  Prince  Apolka  River,  and  about 
half  way  between  Pearl  Key  and  Ephrata.  Within  less  than 
one  month  Mr.  Hall  died.  His  widow  first  removed  to  Ephrata. 
Next  year  she  took  pity  on  the  forsaken  condition  of  Corn 
Island,  and  removed  thither  to  commence  a  school.     Here  her 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  l6l 

abors  were  not  appreciated  as  they  deserved.  Her  health  gave 
vay  under  the  strain.  She  was  rekictantly  compelled  to  return 
o  England  in  1875.  But  the  memory  of  that  lonely  grave  at 
l^uannvatla  led  her  to  present  the  sum  of  $5,000  to  the  Mission 
joard  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  station  on  the  Moskito 
"oast.  This  gift  was  used  for  the  permanent  founding  of 
\arata  on  the  Wawa  River,  north  of  Ephrata,  which  Frederick 
smith,  a  graduate  of  the  normal  school  in  Jamaica,  had  just 
ommenced  as  a  filial.  Another  out-station  had  also  been  com- 
nenced,  Kukallaya,  across  the  lagoon  west  of  Ephrata  and  some 
listance  inland,  the  fruit  of  the  labor  of  Peter  Blair,  who  had 
emovcd  thither  in  1871.  Here  a  village  of  about  three  hun- 
Ired  Indians  clustered  along  the  banks  of  a  small  stream. 

Experience  had  taught  the  need  of  a  staunch  little  vessel  for 
:onmiunication  from  station  to  station  along  this  coast,  but  the 
bird  "Messenger  of  Peace"  became  unseaworthy  after  only  five 
-ears  of  service.  In  June,  1874,  moreover  the  little  'Wfcta,"  her 
)redecessor,  was  driven  ashore  near  Greytown  and  dashed  to 
)ieces.  In  response  to  a  new  appeal  the  keel  of  the  "Herald," 
L  trim  little  schooner  of  forty  tons,  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  was 
aid  in  the  ship-yards  at  Shorcham,  and  in  September,  1875,  she 
:ast  anchor  in  the  lagoon  at  Bluefields.  But  on  the  night  of 
Dctober  2  and  3  of  the  following  year  a  mighty  hurricane  swept 
he  Moskito  Coast.  Bluefields,  Magdala,  Rama  and  Bethany 
;ach  suffered  severely.  During  the  tornado  the  "Herald"  was 
n  imminent  danger.  A  vessel  riding  at  anchor  beside  her  in 
he  harbor  at  Bluefields  went  down  with  several  on  board.  She 
vas  then  driven  into  the  mangrove  swamps  lining  the  lagoon. 
Hfcre  she  lay  sheltered,  and  suffered  no  material  injury.  Had 
;he  not  been  spared  to  transport  provisions  to  the  stations 
vhich  were  now  threatened  with  famine  from  the  destruction 
)f  their  banana  groves  and  provision  grounds  and  from  a  plague 
)f  locusts  and  grasshoppers  that  followed,  the  consequences  of 
he  storm  might  have  been  disastrous  for  the  mission. 

Surinam  even  more  than  the  Moskito  Coast  experienced 
ihanges  in  personnel  during  these  ten  years.  Thcophilus  van 
[Talker  had  been  appointed  Director  of  the  school  for  the  sons 
)f  missionaries  at  Klcinwclke  after  the  synod  of  1869.  His  suc- 
:essor,  Theodore  Enkelmann,  had  scarcely  become  accustomed 
:o  his  duties  as  superintendent,  when  he  was  compelled  to  retire 
Dwing  to  a  painful  malady,  and  died  at  Herrnhut  in  1870.  Her- 
12 


l62  A    HISTORY   OF 

man  Clemens,  the  next  in  charge,  died  at  Salem  on  the  Coronie 
in  1872.  Now  Eugene  Langerfeld  stepped  into  the  breach. 
Moreover,  seven  other  brethren  and  ten  sisters  of  the  mis- 
sionary force  died  during  the  period,  and  ten  brethren  and  six- 
teen sisters  v^rere  compelled  to  retire  from  active  service  on 
account  of  age  or  sickness. 

With  it  all  the  era  was  a  critical  one  for  the  mission  from 
another  cause.  Final  and  complete  emancipation  of  the  slaves 
went  into  effect  on  July  i,  1873,  the  period  of  apprenticeship 
having  come  to  an  end.  Government  no  longer  exercised  con- 
trol over  contracts  for  labor.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  bless- 
ing of  liberty  would  be  abused  in  some  cases,  and  that  removals 
of  the  people  hither  and  thither  until  new  adjustments  had  been 
made,  would  sever  ties  that  had  bound  many  to  the  mission  and 
to  restraining  influences  as  regards  their  morals.  Immorahty 
at  times  became  the  product  of  a  liberty  that  degenerated  into 
license.  In  other  cases  the  ambitious  aped  after  "quality,"  and 
mistook  glittter  for  worth.  The  tendency  which  ever  drives 
labor  to  the  large  cities  in  the  hope  of  easier  or  more  remunera- 
tive work  came  into  full  play.  On  many  estates  the  planters 
began  to  feel  the  lack  of  men.  This  led  to  the  importation  of 
Chinese  and  of  Coolies,  whose  heathenism  exercised  a  deprav- 
ing influence  on  the  blacks.  Efforts  were  forthwith  set  on  foot 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  very  camp  of  the  new  paganism ;  but 
the  barrier  of  language  could  not  at  once  be  overcome.  Small 
wonder  that  in  the  ten  years  the  numbers  of  the  mission  fell 
from  24,156  to  21,636. 

In  the  educational  system  of  the  Colony  the  mission  began 
to  play  a  more  important  part  than  ever.  The  normal  school 
at  Paramaribo  continued  to  supply  well  qualified  native  teachers. 
Governmental  examinations  tended  to  raise  the  standard,  and 
the  Director  himself  was  required  to  have  passed  a  pedagogic 
examination  in  Holland.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1878  the 
scholars  enrolled  in  the  day-schools  of  the  mission  numbered 
7,269.  Thanks  to  the  liberality  of  the  missionary  society  in 
Zeist,  since  1875  the  scope  of  this  branch  of  activity  had  been 
widened  by  the  establishment  of  a  primary  school  in  the  city. 
It  soon  reached  an  attendance  of  150. 

But  whilst  the  congregation  in  Paramaribo  and  those  on  the 
estates  occasioned  grave  solicitude  during  the  period  of  transi- 
tion, new  life  appeared  in  the  Bush  Country.     On  the  Surinam 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 63 

River,  just  north  of  the  fifth  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  due 
east  of  Maripastoon,  Hes  Berg-en-dal.  This  is  a  timber-produc- 
ing estate,  which  the  church  purchased  in  1870,  being  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  Gansee,  Victoria  and  Coffycamp. 
At  this  point  the  river  curves  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  harbor. 
On  the  lofty  bank  of  the  stream,  and  approached  by  a  flight  of 
steps  is  the  solidly  built  "great  house"  of  the  estate,  seventy 
years  old  but  as  serviceable  as  if  new — one  story  in  height  and 
fifty-five  feet  by  twenty  in  dimensions.  In  the  rear  towers  up 
the  steep  hill  which  gives  the  place  its  name.  Eighty  houses 
clustering  among  the  mango  trees  along  the  bank  constitute 
the  village  of  the  negroes  whose  thrift  is  instanced  by  the  fifty 
or  sixty  boats  or  corials  usually  moored  in  the  stream.  Here 
in  the  olden  "great  house"  the  missionary  Lehmann  makes  his 
home  in  April,  1870,  with  David  Peter  Iveraar,  the  son  of  the 
helper  Thomas  of  Gansee  and  a  graduate  of  the  normal  school, 
as  school-master.  At  Gansee  also  a  church  could  be  opened  on 
September  30,  and  before  long  a  house  was  erected  and  pro- 
vision made  for  a  resident  missionary. 

In  happy  contrast  to  the  perplexities  of  Surinam  South  Africa 
now  presents  in  the  main  signs  of  advance  both  in  externals  and 
in  the  inner  life.  In  general  there  is  peace  throughout  the 
decade,  and  missionary  labor  moves  on  harmoniously. 

In  the  Western  Province,  the  division  having  been  effected  in 
accordance  with  the  resolution  of  the  synod  of  1869,  William 
Theodore  Bauer  succeeded  Ferdinand  Bechler  as  superinten- 
dent upon  his  election  as  a  member  of  the  Department  of  Mis- 
sions in  1S74.  Special  attention  was  paid  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
normal  school  at  Genadendal.  Examinations  by  government 
inspectors  reflected  special  credit  upon  Ballein  and  Zachert,  the 
missionaries  in  charge.  Seven  of  the  thirty-one  students  whose 
preparation  was  completed  during  the  present  decade  were 
members  of  the  Reformed  Church  or  of  the  Berlin  Mission. 
Thus  the  Moravian  Church  was  permitted  to  contribute  to  the 
solution  of  the  problem  of  Africa's  evangelization  beyond  the 
bounds  of  her  own  mission  fields. 

The  development  of  the  railroad  system  of  the  Colony  now 
afforded  abundant  employment  to  the  members  of  several  con- 
gregations. But  with  this  advantage  evils  were  combined — 
the  temporary  removal  from  the  wholesome  influences  of 
the  religious  life  of  the  mission  stations,  contact  with  irreligious 


164  A    HISTORY   OF 

whites  and  temptations  to  fall  into  drinking  habits,  for  canteens 
sprang  up  like  mushrooms  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camps  of  the 
laborers.  Yet  much  transpired  at  the  mission  centers  them- 
selves to  warrant  the  hope  that  growth  in  grace  was  permanent 
and  deep.  Mamre,  distinguished  as  the  point  of  extension  in 
the  Western  Province  through  the  establishment  of  its  filial, 
Johanneskerk  or  Pella,  especially  enjoyed  a  deepening  of  its 
religious  Hfe.  At  Elim  an  awakening  amongst  the  school-child- 
ren in  1876  gave  promise  of  a  bright  future.  The  churches  at 
Enon  and  Clarkson  were  enlarged  in  1870  and  1871,  and  a  new 
church  built  at  Snyklip,  and  new  schools  at  Mamre  and  Elim, 
without  drawing  upon  the  mission  treasury. 

Theodore  Weitz  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  newly 
organized  "'Eastern  Province,"  with  headquarters  at  Shiloh. 
Extension  of  labor  amongst  the  "red"  Kafiirs  called  forth  all 
energy.  The  Kei  River  now  formed  the  boundary  between 
British  and  Independent  Kaffraria.  The  natural  features  of  the 
latter  region  were  striking.  ''Consisting  farthest  from  the  sea 
of  lofty  plains  on  the  slopes  of  the  Sturm  and  Draken  ranges,  the 
ground  is  hilly  and  undulating  nearer  the  coast,  being  inter- 
sected by  the  picturesque  and  well-wooded  Amatola  range  and 
its  spurs,  which  have  been  described  as  the  home  of  the  Kaffirs, 
and  have  always  formed  their  chief  stronghold  in  their  wars 
with  the  Colony.  The  climate  is  healthy,  and  the  soil  in  the 
well-watered  regions  wonderfully  fertile.  Snow  at  times  covers 
the  higher  mountains,  and  appears  occasionally  for  a  very  brief 
period  in  the  plains.  The  heavy  rainfalls  during  the  winter 
months  are  often  very  destructive,  and  cause  delay  and  peril 
to  the  traveler.  The  elephants,  quaggas,  zebras  and  many 
other  kinds  of  antelopes,  which  were  common  here  not  many 
years  since,  have  begun  to  disappear  from  most  parts  of  the 
country  before  the  advance  of  civilization."  Here  a  still  power- 
ful people,  numbering  about  three  hundred  thousand,  were 
massed  in  four  chief  tribes.  Physically  resembling  the  Cau- 
casian rather  than  the  Negro  or  the  Hottentot,  with  brown 
skin,  however,  and  woolly  hair,  the  Kaffir  was  a  born  warrior. 
His  importance  was  reckoned  by  the  number  of  his  cattle  and 
of  his  wives.  In  number  the  latter  were  limited  only  by  his 
ability  to  purchase.  His  mental  capacity  was  higher  than  his 
moral  qualities.  Theft  and  lying  were  not  esteemed  disgraceful 
as  means  to  an  end.     Lighthearted  and  cheerful,  sociable  and 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 65 

hospitable,  he  was  amiable  so  long  as  his  will  was  not  crossed; 
but  then  capable  of  sudden  passion,  he  could  combine  ferocity 
and  cruelty.  His  reliction  was  a  compound  of  atheism  and 
superstition.  His  witch-doctors  possessed  even  greater  power 
than  his  chiefs.  The  "umJilaJilo,"  or  smelling  dance  gave  them 
good  opportunity  for  exercising  their  cunning — certain  mum- 
meries by  tiie  aid  of  which  it  was  pretended  that  they  could 
smell  out  persons  guilty  of  having  inflicted  sickness  or  misfor- 
time  on  any  individual  through  uncanny  means.  The  most 
frightful  tortures  were  meted  out  to  the  victims  designated  by 
spite  or  envy.  Stretched  out  upon  the  ground  with  arms  and 
legs  extended,  and  hands  and  feet  pinned  to  the  earth  by  sharp 
stakes,  ants  of  a  peculiar  kind,  whose  bite  was  very  painful, 
were  shaken  all  over  them  to  torment  them  by  creeping  into  eyes, 
nose,  ears  and  mouth,  besides  stinging  all  over  the  naked  body. 
Finally  fires  were  kindled  so  as  to  slowly  roast  them  to  death. 
Amongst  their  religious  rites,  circumcision  had  a  place,  and 
was  attended  with  licentious  abominations.  Kaffir  corn,  from 
which  beer  was  malted,  maize,  melons,  and  tobacco  were  cul- 
tivated by  the  women.  Primitive  industries,  like  tanning,  pipe- 
making,  blacksmithing  and  basket-weaving  and  pottery,  were 
somewhat  practiced.  Feudal  and  patriarchal  features  combined 
to  characterize  their  mode  of  government.  "The  hereditary 
head  of  a  tribe  (ukioiikaiii)  had  under  him  several  minor  chiefs 
(iiikcsi),  whose  dignity  was  also  hereditary.  The  ''ukumkani" 
decided  questions  of  peace  or  war,  and  settled  disputes  amongst 
his  subordinate  rulers;  but  each  of  the  latter  had  full  authority 
over  the  people  in  his  own  district,  subject  only  to  the  advice 
and  control  of  his  councillors  (ampakati).  The  "inkosi"  is 
appealed  to  for  help  by  the  poor,  and  as  the  father  of  his  people 
is  expected  to  give  what  is  needed,  a  cow,  or  a  sheep,  or  a 
"kaross/'  If  it  were  not  for  the  many  fines  imposed  on  trans- 
gressors, the  herds  and  possessions  of  many  an  "ifikosi''  would 
rather  dwindle.  Generally  speaking,  the  "iiikosi"  was  endowed 
with  sufficient  business  capacity  to  make  the  dignity  he 
he  held  afford  him  a  fair  pecuniary  return.  In  all  judicial 
proceedings,  which  were  conducted  with  a  certain  degree  of 
dignity,  the  accused  was  considered  guilty,  until  he  had  proved 
his  innocence ;  if  the  '^inkosi"  was  the  accuser,  he  was  almost 
sure  to  be  condemned.  Murder  was  punished  with  death,  all 
other  crimes  with  fines  in  cattle,  a  penalty  which  the   Kaffir 


l66  A   HISTORY   OF 

called  being  "eaten  up."  The  nearest  relatives  of  the  con- 
demned were  expected  to  contribute,  if  a  man  was  unable  to 
pay  the  full  amount  of  the  inflicted  fine.  From  early  years  their 
laws  were  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  the  natives,  which  they 
dehghted  in  discussing;  in  this  occupation  they  often  displayed 
a  striking  degree  of  those  qualities  which  distinguish  a  lawyer." 
In  Independent  Kafifraria  there  still  remained  a  wide  field  for 
pioneer  activity,  and  Baziya  here  formed  a  point  of  vantage  for 
the  future  extension  of  the  Moravian  mission.  When  there- 
fore repeated  requests  for  a  missionary  were  presented  at  Shiloh 
from  Zibi,  chief  of  the  Amahlubi,  and  a  vassal  of  the  great  chief 
Ngangelizwe,  it  was  recognized  as  a  providential  call.  Hart- 
mann  of  Goshen  and  Richard  Baur  of  Baziya  made  a  tour  of 
reconnaissance  by  ox-wagon  in  April  and  May,  i860.  But 
meanwhile  the  settlement  of  various  territorial  disputes  through 
the  mediation  of  the  governor  of  British  Kaffraria  had  involved 
the  removal  of  Zibi  from  the  border  country  near  Shiloh,  to 
Nomansland,  a  district  bounded  by  the  Draken  Mountains  and 
the  rivers  Tina  and  Xinixa  being  apportioned  to  his  Hlubis  and 
to  Lubenya's  Basutos.  The  tour  of  exploration  resulted  in  the 
calling  of  Henry  Meyer  of  Engotini,  to  establish  a  mission 
in  the  new  home  of  the  Hlubis,  with  Samuel  Mazwi  as  his  assist- 
ant. In  the  early  part  of  November  the  veteran,  by  this  time 
an  accomplished  Kaffir  linguist,  made  a  lonely  journey  of  a 
week  through  the  trackless  wilderness,  accompanied  only  by 
two  Christian  Kaffirs.  The  chief  himself  was  not  at  home;  but 
his  wife  accorded  a  cordial  welcome  at  Ezincuka  (z.  e.  among 
the  wolves),  amid  the  sandstone  crags  of  the  Draken,  where 
the  primitive  shelter  of  a  cave  whose  front  had  been  walled  up, 
afforded  the  missionary  a  temporary  home.  Though  the  place 
was  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  Engotini  and  seventy- 
five  miles  from  the  nearest  white  man,  and  four  days'  journey 
on  horseback  distant  from  the  nearest  point  whence  a  letter 
might  be  despatched,  he  determined  to  bring  his  wife  and  child- 
ren hither.  In  the  spring  of  1870  they  set  out.  Three  weeks 
of  exhausting  travel  compelled  her  and  their  four  children  to 
remain  at  the  Enghsh  mission  of  St.-  Augustine.  No  wagon 
had  ever  crossed  the  mountains.  There  was  no  path.  At  one 
impassable  spot  a  road  had  to  be  broken  with  the  help  of  Zibi's 
men.  When  Meyer  reached  his  kraal,  one  of  the  innumerable 
Kaffir  wars  had  broken  out.     Meyer  must  hasten  from  chief  to 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 6/ 

chief  to  endeavor  to  make  peace.  Under  the  circumstances 
Ezincuka  was  untenable.  But  he  would  not  retreat.  Some- 
what to  the  northwest,  in  a  central  position  between  five  mutu- 
ally hostile  heathen  tribes,  but  with  the  full  consent  of  the  local 
chief,  Lehanna,  who  claimed  jurisdiction,  he  drove  the  first 
stake  of  the  new  station — Emtumasi.  His  house  was  built  high 
up  amid  the  rocks,  for  safety.  Then  he  returned  for  his  wife. 
Their  trip  was  thrillingly  perilous.  Hostile  marauders  all 
around,  once  their  wagon  upset.  A  fall  of  snow  on  the  moun- 
tains drove  them  for  shelter  within  a  smoky  Kaffir  hut,  without 
window  or  chimney.  Sixteen  days  they  tarried  here.  But  it 
was  not  lost  time.  Some  of  the  people  were  found  to  have 
formerly  lived  at  Shiloh.  The  enforced  halt  brought  them  a 
gracious  opportunity  to  hear  God's  Word  daily.  At  last  Emtu- 
masi was  reached,  and  the  work  of  evangelization  commenced. 
As  many  as  fifty  dusky  warriors  sought  the  missionary's  minis- 
trations. But  scarcely  were  hopes  awakened  when  muttering 
thunders  of  strife  rolled  around  the  mountains.  Assegais 
gleamed.  Zibi  was  on  his  defence.  Lehanna  scoured  the  coun- 
try. Provisions  were  scarce.  The  cattle  of  the  mission  were 
stolen.  Once  during  this  time  of  terrible  anxiety  Meyer  was 
compelled  to  be  absent  at  Shiloh,  securing  provisions,  and  con- 
veying word  to  the  colonial  authorities  respecting  the  state  of 
affairs.  The  wife  and  children  are  indeed  "among  the  wolves." 
Swollen  rivers  detained  the  husband  for  weeks.  Fuel  failed  at 
Emtumasi.  The  lonely  woman  and  children  must  search  for 
miles  for  brushwood  and  dry  grass.  Their  candles  gave  out, 
and  the  evenings  and  nights  were  long.  Then  cruel  Lehanna 
came  and  boasted  of  the  Basuto  missions  which  he  had  plund- 
ered. Two  of  the  children  were  seized  with  typhus  fever.  But 
God  was  merciful.  They  recovered,  and  the  husband  rejoined 
her  in  her  extremity.  It  was  just  in  time.  Presently  clouds 
of  smoke  ascended  from  Zibi's  kraal.  Lehanna's  threats  seemed 
about  to  be  verified,  for  Zibi's  men  were  scattered  to  the  cran- 
nies of  the  mountains.  On  the  heights  above  the  mission  the 
Basuto  yells  rang  out,  and  the  hills  echoed  with  the  fierce  beat 
of  spears  on  shields.  But  God  was  merciful.  For  some 
unknown  reason  the  foes  drew  off. 

Then  followed  two  years  of  utter  solitude.  The  chieftain  who 
had  invited  Meyer  to  Xomansland  did  not  dare  to  show  his  face. 
But  Meyer  faithfully  sought  out  the  hiding  places  of  Zibi's  men, 


l68  A    HISTORY    OF 

and  their  hearts  were  somewhat  softened  by  distress.  More- 
over his  energetic  representations  to  the  British  commissioner 
proved  a  factor  in  hastening  the  restoration  of  peace. 

Now  came  reward.  For  Zibi  and  his  men  it  was  good  to 
have  been  afflicted.  A  hunger  for  the  Word  and  for  enhghten- 
ment  arose.  The  assegais  were  gladly  laid  down  and  primers 
and  spelHng-books  taken  in  hand.  A  little  village  sprang  up 
beside  the  mission  house.  By  August,  1873,  thirteen  converts 
met  around  the  Lord's  table,  and  nine  candidates  desired  bap- 
tism. Out-stations  were  soon  required.  The  cry  "What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved?"'  passed  from  kraal  to  kraal.  On  Sunday 
crowds  came  from  far  and  near,  no  longer  smeared  with  war 
paint,  no  longer  in  nakedness  and  lilth,  but  clean  and  clothed. 

Ludini,  Zibi's  uncle,  was  a  dignified  old  man,  somewhat 
laconic,  but  apt  to  speak  to  the  point.  Now  he  repeatedly  put 
one  question  to  Meyer,  at  each  visit,  "Where  is  my  teacher?" 
His  people  also  desired  to  learn  of  Christ.  Their  appeal  could 
not  be  set  aside.  Building  operations  were  therefore  com- 
menced at  this  new  point,  twenty-seven  miles  away;  but  the 
money  at  the  disposal  of  the  missionary  was  soon  exhausted. 
Yet  Meyer  was  not  downcast.  Gathering  his  Emtumasi  Chris- 
tians, he  and  they  prayed  for  means  to  complete  what  had  been 
begun  for  Ludini.  The  very  next  day  a  letter  from  America 
brought  a  sum  which  sufficed  to  complete  the  mission  house; 
and  so  they  called  it  " Elokulweni" — i.  e.,  in  faith.  Thither  the 
Meyers  removed,  native  Brethren  taking  care  of  Emtumasi  and 
its  two  filials,  Tinana  and  Mvenyane,  until  missionaries  could 
come  to  the  help  of  the  pioneer.  For  he  needed  rehef.  Over- 
work, anxieties,  exposure,  and  in  addition  to  all  a  painful  tumor 
in  the  left  shoulder  rendered  a  furlough  absolutely  necessary. 
Nevertheless  he  was  indefatigable  in  pastoral  visits  and  evan- 
gelistic labors.  Bvit  at  last  he  must  bid  farewell  to  his  children 
in  the  faith.  On  January  6,  1876,  he  turned  away  from  the 
Draken  Mountains,  and  from  the  four  mission  stations  planted 
by  him  in  a  heathen  land.  In  London  and  in  Holland  he 
kindled  large  audiences  by  his  enthusiasm  in  spite  of  pain.  But 
medical  experts  assured  him  that  an  operation  was  his  only 
hope.  This  was  attempted  in  Marburg.  Only  beside  his  bed 
was  his  family  circle  ever  fully  complete  on  earth — a  typical 
missionary  family  in  this.  In  the  wanderings  of  his  delirium 
he  was  even  vet  with  his  Kaffirs.     Their  tongue  had  banished 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1 69 

the  speech  of  his  boyhood.  And  so,  in  fancy  still  at  his  post, 
Meyer  embraced  his  wife  for  the  last  time,  and  whispered  the 
name  of  their  youngest  son  and  of  the  Saviour,  and  passed  to 
reward,  not  quite  fifty  years  of  age. 

Elukolweni  and  Alvenyane  were  in  charge  of  Alvin  Richter; 
at  Tinana  Otto  Padel  was  stationed,  whilst  Emtumasi  was 
entrusted  to  John  Nakin,  the  efficient  native  assistant.  And  in 
the  following  years  each  steadily  advanced. 

Meanwhile,  another  "iiikosi,"  Stokwe,  a  Tambooki  living 
about  halfway  between  Shiloh  and  Baziya,  had  requested  that 
a  missionary  be  sent  to  him.  John  Henry  Hartmann,  together 
with  Paul  Gwazela  of  Goshen  were  dispatched,  and  so  in  1874 
Entwanazana  was  founded  on  the  Umtata  River. 

But  now  perplexities  thickened.  The  result  of  many  nego- 
tiations for  a  grant  of  land  at  Emtumasi,  adjudged  by  the  com- 
missioners to  be  within  the  sphere  of  Lubenya,  the  Basuto  chief, 
was  a  refusal  on  his  part.  Moreover  his  vassals  persisted  in 
regarding  the  work  of  the  mission  there  from  a  tribal  stand- 
point. Eor  them  to  join  a  Hlubi  organization  would  be  dis- 
loyalty. Therefore  a  reluctant  withdrawal  of  the  missionary 
for  a  season  seemed  to  be  the  only  alternative.  In  addition 
rumors  of  a  coming  Kaffir  war,  to  be  of  dimensions  far  exceed- 
ing any  preceding  one,  filled  the  air.  Guns  and  rifles  with  bayo- 
nets found  a  ready  sale  in  frontier  settlements.  Soon  after 
Christmas  the  Gcalckas.  joined  by  Bowana's  and  Lehanna's 
Basutos,  rose  in  an  effort  to  throw  off  the  British  yoke. 
Stokwe  joined  the  raiders.  Nganglizwe  was  restless,  yet  loyal 
to  those  whose  suzerainty  he  had  accepted.  Hence  in  God's 
providence,  the  entire  Kaffir  mission  did  not  become  involved, 
as  had  been  feared.  The  campaign  was  brief.  Sandili.  a 
troublcr  of  the  peace  for  years,  fell  in  a  skirmish.  Kreli,  chief 
of  the  Gcalekas,  hid  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  Stokwe 
was  defeated  and  captured.  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  in  the  name  of 
Queen  Victoria,  could  offer  anmesty  to  all  except  a  few  ring- 
leaders. But  Entwanazana  had  been  looted  and  stood  in  ruins. 
In  June,  1878.  Hasting  returned.  His  former  people  had  been 
scattered,  the  land  being  taken  away  from  Stokwe's  Kaffirs. 
Yet  seventy-eight  souls  could  soon  be  reported  as  gathered 
round  him. 

Meantime  the  older  congregations  of  the  Eastern  Province 
were  begfinning  to  assume  a  more  distinctively  Christian  char- 


170  A    HISTORY   OF 

acter.  Chief  hindrances  remained  the  disorders  attendant  upon 
the  war,  and  the  abundance  of  canteens  in  the  frontier  districts. 
Nevertheless  progress  was  observable.  The  beehive  shaped 
kraals  were  giving  place  to  houses  after  the  European  mode, 
where  the  decencies  of  Hfe  could  be  observed.  A  commence- 
ment was  made  at  an  effort  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
gospel.  Special  attention  was  paid  to  the  schools.  For  the 
erection  of  a  new  church  at  Shiloh  the  people  themselves  con- 
tributed $2,500  in  1870  and  1871. 

In  Australia  imposing  numbers  could  not  be  expected.  In 
all  Victoria  there  were  not  more  than  eight  hundred  pure 
Papuans.  But  although  the  fruits  of  missionary  labor  could 
show  an  increase  of  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  in  1879 
as  compared  with  sixty-eight  ten  years  before,  the  improvement 
in  quality  had  been  remarkable.  At  Ramahyuk  in  1872  the 
school  earned  one  hundred  per  cent.,  the  highest  number  of 
marks  attained  by  any  of  the  fourteen  hundred  schools  under 
the  supervision  of  the  government  inspector.  Ebenezer  blos- 
somed out  like  an  oasis,  thanks  to  the  windmill  and  aqueduct, 
constructed  by  Adolphus  Hartmann,  which  had  rendered  irri- 
gation possible.  When  the  project  of  founding  a  hospital  at 
Sale,  near  Ramahyuk,  was  agitated,  the  first  contribution 
received  towards  the  erection  of  the  building  came  from  the 
native  congregation,  a  donation  of  $15.  In  1876  an  orphanage 
was  begun  at  Ramahyuk  itself,  in  charge  of  native  Christians. 
Commissioners  appointed  by  government  in  1877  to  inquire  into 
the  condition  of  the  aborigines  of  the  colony  and  to  suggest  the 
best  means  for  furthering  their  interests,  in  spite  of  preexisting 
prejudices  against  the  system  of  reserves  reported  favorably, 
and  especially  gave  the  palm  to  the  two  stations  conducted  by 
the  Moravian  missionaries,  as  exceeding  in  efficiency  the  four 
under  the  direct  management  of  the  Board  for  the  Protection 
of  the  Aborigines. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  all  the  expenditure  of  faithful  labor, 
the  Himalayan  mission  remained  comparatively  fruitless.  Con- 
verts had  to  face  the  certainty  of  being  disowned  by  relatives, 
and  of  losing  employment,  whilst  local  chiefs  were  incessant  in 
both  open  and  secret  opposition.  Great  rejoicing  had  attended 
the  baptism  by  Pagell  in  1872  of  a  young  convert,  Nathanael 
Sodpa  Gjalzan,  an  ex-lama  from  Lhassa.  His  linguistic  attain- 
ments had  been  invaluable.      The  schools  had  extended  their 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I/I 

influence,  and  in  the  spring  of  1876  the  baptism  of  the  Moham- 
medan teaclier  in  the  school  at  Kyelang  had  been  followed  by 
the  conversion  of  five  of  his  scholars.  Mission  tours  had  Been 
frequent,  and  large  numbers  of  copies  of  tracts  and  of  parts  of 
the  Xew  Testament  distributed.  Jaeschke's  literary  labors  had 
not  ceased  with  his  return  home  in  1868.  He  carried  through 
the  press  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  the  Book  of  Acts,  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Revelation,  besides  a  translation  of  the 
Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  Redslob,  who  arrived  in  1872,  had 
completed  the  translation  of  Genesis.  In  hope  against  hope  the 
missionaries  persevered,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  future 
success. 

Now  yet  another  sphere  of  unselfish  service  was  entered.  In 
1865  a  benevolent  German  lady,  Baroness  von  Keffenbrink- 
Ascheraden,  with  her  husband  visited  the  Holy  Land.  The 
misery  of  the  lepers,  crouching  and  begging  with  their  hoarse 
cries  beside  the  Zion  gate  of  Jerusalem,  w'ent  to  her  heart.  She 
purchased  a  plot  of  ground  outside  the  Joppa  gate,  and  built  a 
house  to  serve  as  an  asylum.  A  local  committee  of  Christian 
gentlemen  was  formed  for  the  supervision  of  its  affairs,  with 
Bishop  Gobat  as  chairman. 

But  to  build  a  house  was  easier  than  to  secure  men  and 
women  willing  to  cope  with  this  terrible  disease  at  less  than 
arm's-length.  It  seemed  natural  to  turn  to  the  Moravian 
Church,  identified  for  forty-five  years  with  the  care  of  lepers 
in  Cape  Colony.  Frederick  Tappe  and  his  wife,  for  years  pre- 
viously active  in  Labrador,  consented  to  undertake  the  work. 

The  asylum  was  dedicated  in  May,  1867.  But  deep  preju- 
dices at  first  thwarted  its  usefulness.  Fanatical  Moslems  would 
not  enter  the  Christian  dwelling.  Independence  and  the  pleas- 
ures and  privileges  of  begging  were  not  supposed  to  be  coun- 
terbalanced by  tender  care,  by  a  comfortable  home,  by  changes 
of  linen  and  good  food,  conditioned  by  the  observance  of  neces- 
sary rules.  On  the  day  of  dedication  not  one  solitary  bene- 
ficiary was  at  hand.  However  w-ithin  a  year  twelve  patients 
were  sheltered,  and  within  ten  years  twenty  became  the  average 
number  at  one  time.  "But  now  the  maintenance  of  such  an 
institution,  requiring  about  $1,500  per  annum,  called  for  the 
exercise  of  faith  in  God.  How  was  such  a  sum  to  be  raised? 
There  was  but  one  answer,  'Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive.'  And 
prayer  was  made  and  answered.     It  happened  that  while  the 


172  A   HISTORY   OF 

Baroness  pondered  upon  this  matter,  a  small  pamphlet  from  the 
pen  of  Bishop  James  La  Trobe,  giving  an  account  of  the  self- 
denying  labors  of  our  missionaries  among  the  lepers  in  South 
Africa,  fell  into  her  hands.  She  at  once  wrote  to  the  author, 
claiming  his  sympathy  and  aid  for  her  cherished  plan  on  behalf  of 
the  lepers  in  Emmanuel's  land.  Her  touching  letter,  pubHshed  in 
the  Mm-avian  Magazine,  eHcited  a  ready  response,  not  only  from 
members  of  the  Moravian  Church,  but  also  from  Chrisians  of 
other  names.  And  ever  since  that  day  of  small  things,  the  Lord 
has  raised  up  many  warm  friends  to  this  cause  in  England,  Ger- 
many, Switzerland  and  in  the  United  States.  It  is  true  there 
have  been  times  when  the  Committee  and  Managers  have  been 
in  sore  straits,  but  neither  compassions,  nor  faith,  nor  supply 
have  failed.  Year  by  year  help  has  come  seasonably  and  often 
most  unexpectedly." 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S. 


173 


CHAPTER  XVI 


>' 


.7 


THE    FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    FROM    1879    TO    1889. 

A  net  gain  of  thirteen  stations  and  of  eleven  thousand  and 
thirty-one  adherents  and  of  sixteen  missionaries  as  compared 
with  the  figures  at  the  beginning  of  the  decade,  gave  proof  that 
divine  favor  rested  upon  the  work.  This  very  extension,  how- 
ever, carrying  as  it  did  with  it  an  increasing  outlay  not  only 
for  current  expenses  but  also  for  the  training  and  outfit  of  mis- 
sionaries, for  the  education  of  missionaries'  children  and  for 
pensions,  as  well  as  for  the  erection  and  care  of  additional  build- 
ings, and  complicating  the  work  of  administration,  involved  an 
ever  increasing  strain  upon  resources.  Seven  of  the  ten  years 
showed  deficits  in  the  annual  accounts,  ranging  from  $6,866  to 
$16,951.  Nevertheless  by  the  blessing  of  God  the  liberahty  of 
members  and  friends  made  it  possible  for  the  general  synod  of 
1889  prior  to  the  close  of  its  sessions  to  rejoice  at  the  announce- 
ment that  the  last  deficit  had  been  made  good. 

Greenland  saw  a  slight  increase  in  the  number  of  members, 
although  only  the  most  southern  station,  Friedrichsthal,  any 
longer  came  into  contact  with  actual  heathen,  and  these  for  the 
most  part  visitors  from  the  east  coast.  In  the  year  1881  Jacob 
Brodbeck  undertook  a  tour  of  exploration  thither  in  the  com- 
pany of  heathen  Eskimos  who  were  returning  home,  but  met 
with  no  other  persons  whatsoever.  In  1883  Nordenskjold,  the 
Swedish  explorer,  contemplating  an  expedition  to  the  same 
region,  requested  the  aid  of  Brodbeck  as  interpreter.  The  wish 
was  granted,  in  the  hope  that  missionary  work  might  be  done. 
The  expedition  reached  the  66th  degree  of  northern  latitude. 
Having  spent  the  winter  in  Europe,  Brodbeck  set  sail  from 
Copenhagen  in  the  barque  Albaon,  March  30.  On  April  i  the 
ship  was  running  under  close-reefed  sails.  A  storm  had  been 
raging  since  the  previous  day.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  night 
being  very  dark,  breakers  were  suddenly  seen  right  ahead.     In 


174  A   HISTORY   OF 

a  moment  there  was  a  fearful  crash.  The  vessel  had  struck  on 
a  reef  near  the  Shetland  Islands,  Only  the  mate,  two  seamen 
and  one  passenger  managed  to  crawl  out  onto  the  rocks,  to 
which  they  clung  till  morning,  when  they  were  rescued  by  a 
boat  from  the  shore.  Of  _the  others,  including  Brodbeck,  noth- 
ing was  ever  seen. 

With  this  exception,  the  life  of  the  mission  in  Greenland 
moved  on  in  an  uneventful  manner,  but  the  gradual  impoverish- 
ment of  the  people  scattered  along  the  west  coast  became  more 
and  more  painfully  evident.  The  prospect  of  ultimate  self- 
support  on  the  part  of  this  mission  field  was  becoming  more  and 
more  problematic.  The  normal  school  at  New  Herrnhut  was 
closed  in  1884;  and  whilst  that  at  Lichtenau  was  theoretically 
retained,  during  several  years  its  usefulness  was  practically  sus- 
pended for  lack  of  adequate  forces. 

Labrador,  at  the  end  of  the  decade  showed  a  slight  decrease 
in  the  number  of  Eskimos,  but  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
white  settlers,  attached  to  the  church,  a  total  of  1,283  in  all. 
The  trade  carried  on  in  connection  with  the  defrayal  of  the 
costs  of  the  mission  still  occasioned  no  little  perplexity.  Con- 
ducted by  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  its 
agents  since  1876  were  regarded  as  in  the  service  of  the  Mission 
Board,  although  not  charged  with  spiritual  duties.  At  their 
head  stood  a  warden.  Trouble  again  arose  in  connection  with 
the  debts  of  the  natives  and  assumed  such  a  character  that  the 
society  commissioned  Benjamin  La  Trobe  to  visit  Labrador  as 
its  representative.  Zoar  had  been  the  chief  center  of  dissatisfac- 
tion. Ever  since  1882  the  unpaid  indebtedness  of  the  Eskimos 
of  this  station  had  been  steadily  increasing,  in  spite  of  consid- 
erable advances  from  the  "poor  fund,"  until  the  twenty-six  men 
who  were  heads  of  families  there  owed  in  all  about  $2,715. 
From  its  founding  in  1865  this  place  had  earned  a  reputation 
as  a  poor  point  for  fishery,  etc.  And  the  character  of  its  people 
left  a  good  deal  to  be  desired  in  regard  to  amenability  to 
regulations.  During  the  autumn  of  1887  their  industry  was 
attended  with  complete  failure.  Much  distress  arose.  Instead 
of  humbling  themselves  under  the  afiflictive  providence,  certain 
of  the  people  planned  to  plunder  the  store.  The  trader  was 
however  warned  in  time,  and  sent  for  Bourquin,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mission,  who  came  from  Nain  to  allay  the  dis- 
satisfaction.    His  earnest  representations  for  a  time  appeared 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 


/  3 


to  have  quieted  the  restless  spirits.  But  later  a  man  shot  twice 
into  the  store  where  the  Rinderknecht  and  Lundberg  were 
busied,  because  they  had  refused  his  unjustifiable  demands. 
After  a  thorough  examination  into  the  whole  affair,  La  Trobe 
with  the  missionaries  decided  upon  the  abandonment  of  the 
store  at  Zoar.  This  carried  with  it  the  probable  withdrawal  of 
the  missionaries.  The  decision  had  a  wholesome  effect  at  the 
other  stations. 

In  yet  another  respect  the  Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the 
Gospel  was  occasioned  perplexity  during  the  decade.  The 
Cordelia,  an  auxiliary  supply  ship  used  in  the  trade  between 
Labrador  and  London,  was  run  down  by  a  steamer  in  the 
Thames  in  1881.  All  hands  were  saved,  but  the  cargo  perished, 
a  considerable  loss  to  the  treasury  of  the  society. 

The  Indian  missions  in  North  America  had  passed  through 
severe  trials.  During  the  Civil  War  lawless  bands  ranged 
through  the  Cherokee  country.  On  September  2,  1862,  Ward, 
a  native  missionary,  was  shot  by  Indians  as  an  alleged  southern 
sympathizer.  New  Springplace  founded  in  the  early  forties  was 
pillaged.  Gilbert  Bishop,  the  missionary  in  charge,  after  suf- 
fering arbitrary  arrest  by  a  subordinate  Northern  officer,  made 
his  way  with  his  family  to  Pennsylvania.  Canaan,  the  first  sta- 
tion to  be  established,  in  1841,  after  the  removal  from  Georgia, 
was  destroyed.  In  both  places  the  converts  were  scattered. 
Yet  in  1866  Edwin  J.  Mack  had  returned  from  Salem  and 
reoccupicd  New  Springplace.  Later  a  church  was  built  at 
Talequah,  the  capital  of  the  "nation." 

In  1837  two-thirds  of  the  people  of  New  Fairfield  had  removed 
with  their  missionary,  Jesse  Vogler,  to  the  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, ultimately  settling  near  F'ort  Leavenworth,  in  Kansas, 
where  New  Westfield  was  founded  on  a  reserve  of  twenty-four 
thousand  acres,  a  mission  doomed  almost  from  the  outset  by 
the  tide  of  white  migration  westwards.  Meanwhile  the  remnant 
at  New  Fairfield  pursued  the  uneventful  tenor  of  their  life. 
After  a  period  marked  by  prevailing  indifference,  the  heart  of 
Adolphus  Ilartmann — missionary-  here  since  his  transfer  from 
Australia  in  1870 — was  gladdened  in  1887  by  an  awakening 
whereby  sixty  persons  were  brought  to  Christ  or  renewed  in  an 
earnest  desire  for  a  consecrated  life.  At  New  Westfield,  Kan- 
sas, the  church  was  twice  burnt  by  incendiaries  (November  15, 
1880,  and  January  i,  1886) — presumably  by  bad  whites  or  half- 


176  A   HISTORY   OF 

breeds.  The  greater  attractions  of  the  government  industrial 
school  at  Lawrence  having  induced  the  people  to  send  their 
children  thither,  the  day-school  at  New  Westfield  was  closed  in 
December,  1884.  Retrogression  in  this  period  also  marked  the 
work  amongst  the  Qherpkees.  The  church  at  Taleguah,  for 
lack  of  attendance  was  sold  to  the  Presbyterians  in  1880.  The 
consequent  removal  of  one  missionary  for  a  time  placed  the 
entire  field  in  charge  of  Theodore  M.  Rights,  having  car^  of 
Sp^ringplace  and  Woodmount  and  preaching  occasionally  in 
Talequah.  But  in  1884  Benjamin  Lineback  was  called  as  a 
co-worker,  and  two  3'-ears  later  a  church  was  consecrated  at 
]^k/bodmount,  the  Cherokees  themselves  contributing  $575 
towards  this  purpose.  Meanwhile  attempts  were  made  to  open 
out-stations;  but  the  membership  remained  small — less  than 
two  hundred  in  all. 

On  the  other  hand  with  the  approval  of  the  Mission  Board 
in  1884  the  American  Province,  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Northern  Provincial  Elders'  Conference  and  the  Society  for 
Propagating  the  Gospel  at  Bethlehem,  energetically  undertook 
new  labors  in  behalf  of  the  aborigines  of  the  American  conti- 
nent. In  1885  a  mission  was  permanently  established  in  west- 
ern Alaska. 

For  the  Moskito  territory  God  had  special  blessings  in 
reserve.  The  first  traces  of  the  awakening  manifested  them- 
selves in  May,  1881,  at  Magdala.  Soon  the  awakening  became 
general,  and  spread  to  Bluefields,  Bethany,  Ephrata,  Karata 
and  Kukallaya.  All  the  neighboring  villages  felt  the  effects. 
Though  in  addition  to  the  proofs  of  a  genuine  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  fanatical  excesses  also  appeared,  caricatures 
wrought  by  the  enemy,  the  entire  revival  approved  itself  a 
work  of  God  and  did  not  burn  out  hastily.  Indians,  Negroes, 
Creoles  and  Spaniards  felt  the  mighty  movement  of  the  Spirit 
in  their  hearts.  Men  wrestled  with  God  under  a  crushing 
sense  of  sin  for  days,  it  might  be,  and  then  light  dawned  upon 
their  darkness.  Sins  were  confessed  openly.  Restitutions  were 
made.  In  November,  1882,  a  conspiracy  against  the  govern- 
ment in  Bluefields  came  to  naught  because  of  the  religious 
movement.  More  than  a  dozen  "sukias,''  the  forefront  of  the 
opposition,  surrendered  to  the  truth.  Liberal  offerings  were 
made  by  some  who  had  formerly  strenuously  resisted  even  the 
entrance  of  light.     "At  the  reopening  of  the  chapel  at  Magdala, 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  7/ 

January  19,  1883,  an  aged  Indian,  named  Fox,  rose  and  said: 
'Brethren,  I  can  not  make  long  speeches,  but  I  will  say  this: 
make  ten  collections  for  the  chapel,  and  I  will  give  something 
each  time.'  All  the  brandy  and  rum  shops  in  the  village  were 
closed,  with  one  exception.  The  people  went  to  the  chapel 
instead  of  to  the  public  house.  At  Quamwatla  two  hundred 
Indians  returned  to  the  village,  which  they  had  left  eight  years 
before  owing  to  superstitious  dread  of  poison  supposed  to  be 
buried  there.  They  rebuilt  their  huts  and  awaited  the  arrival 
of  a  missionary.  As  in  apostolic  times,  the  Lord  added  to  the 
church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved.  The  chapel  at  Karata, 
built  seven  years  before  with  considerable  misgivings,  was 
filled  with  an  auditory  of  two  hundred  persons.  Sixty-six 
Indians  were  baptized  there  on  November  16,  1881 ;  the  next 
day  eighteen  couples  received  the  blessing  of  the  church  upon 
their  union."  Several  hundred  heathen  asked  for  instruction 
and  applied  for  baptism.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  1887  nine  1^ 
hundred  and  sixty-one  adults  were  baptized.  During  the  decade 
the  adherents  of  the  mission  increased  in  number  from  1,030 
to  3,294.  Three  out-stations  were  added.  Indians  across  the 
border  of  Nicaragua  also  desired  instruction;  but  the  govern- 
ment of  the  republic  interposed  a  prohibition,  on  the  ground 
that  the  Romin  Catholic  was  the  only  church  recognized  by 
their  constitution.  Yet  in  1888  the  regulations  were  in  so  far 
relaxed  as  to  permit  visits  on  the  part  of  Augustus  Erdmann 
and  Frederick  Smith,  and  negotiations  were  begun  for  the 
placing  of  a  "helper"  at  Sandy  Bay  in  Nicaragua.  One  result 
of  the  revival  was  the  erection  of  chapels  in  a  number  of  villages 
not  regularly  occupied,  and  in  many  cases  without  assistance 
from  the  treasury  of  the  missions. 

Whilst  the  course  of  the  mission  as  such  throughout  these 
years  afforded  .special  satisfaction,  the  political  situation  became 
grave.  So  long  as  the  little  strip  of  undeveloped  coast  remained 
wilderness  there  was  little  inducement  for  any  power  to  place 
a  new  interpretation  on  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Managua, 
according  to  which  it  enjoyed  independent  government  whil-^t 
recognizing  the  suzerainty  of  Nicaragua.  But  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  tiade  in  tropical  fruits  and  the  exportation  of 
mahogany  and  other  valuable  timber  as  a  consequence  of  the 
civilizing  effects  of  missionary  labor,  and  with  the  influx  of 
traders  and  gold-seekers  and  adventurers  from  many  lands,  the 
»3 


178  A    HISTORY    OF 

situation  changed.  During  the  early  summer  of  1879  Chief 
Henry  Clarence  was  poisoned,  and  died  suddenly.  Great  excite- 
ment ensued.  The  absorption  of  the  coast  by  Nicaragua 
appeared  likely  to  follow.  But  the  election  of  a  new  chief  was 
effected,  Albert  Hendy  by  name,  a  convert  of  the  mission.  Yet 
ominous  signs  reappeared  from  time  to  time,  and  his  sud- 
den death  at  Magdala,  on  November  8,  1888,  once  more  threw 
affairs  into  confusion,  and  threatened  both  the  independence 
of  the  territory  and  the  free  prosecution  of  missionary  activity. 
But  once  more  fears  were  dispehed  by  the  election  of  Jonathan 
Charles  Frederick,  a  nephew  of  the  late  chief,  in  March,  1889, 
and  the  quiet  and  orderly  conduct  of  affairs  was  maintained. 

By  the  year  1884  the  Herald  began  to  succumb  to  the  influ- 
ences of  tropical  seas  that  shorten  the  life  of  all  kinds  of  craft. 
Liberal  contributions  again  came  in.  A  serviceable  schooner, 
the  Adele,  built  for  use  along  this  coast,  was  therefore  bought, 
and  renamed  the  Meta,  in  1888.  But  of  yet  greater  import- 
ance to  the  mission  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  faithful  efforts  of  the 
Brethren,  and  rendered  especially  desirable  since  the  revival, 
was  the  completion  of  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament 
into  the  Moskito  Indian  tongue  by  WiUiam  Sieborger,  who 
brought  his  manuscript  to  Europe  in  1888,  to  be  printed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Herrnhut  Bible  Society. 

In  November,  1879,  an  important  conference  of  ministers  and 
delegates  was  convened  at  Nisky,  St.  Thomas,  in  order  to  take 
the  steps  necessary  to  carry  out  the  legislation  of  the  general 
synod,  which  should  prepare  the  way  for  Provincial  autonomy. 
The  resolutions  of  the  synod  and  the  proposals  of  the  Mission 
Board  were  discussed  with  frank  thoroughness,  and  various 
conclusions  reached  from  the  standpoint  of  the  mission  itself. 
The  first  of  these,  which  sought  a  division  of  the  work  into  two 
Provinces,  met  with  the  approval  of  the  Mission  Board.  It 
was  recognized  that  Jamaica  presented  features  different  from 
those  prevailing  in  the  eastern  islands,  and  that  the  distance 
of  this  western  sphere  of  operations  from  the  Lesser  Antilles 
would  involve  large  outlays,  if  the  West  Indian  mission  were 
hereafter  maintained  as  one  organic  whole.  Moreover  in 
Jamaica  such  a  degree  of  organization  had  already  been  devel- 
oped, that  few  changes  were  necessary  to  adapt  the  situation 
to  the  desires  of  the  general  synod.  Supervision  was  already 
exercised  by  an  executive  conference  under  the  direction  of  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  79 

Department  of  Missions.  Here,  therefore,  the  five  members 
of  this  executive  were  retained  in  office — Edwin  E.  Reinke, 
President;  George  Henry  Hanna,  Treasurer ;  John  Paul  Pulkra- 
bek.  Secretary;  Peter  Larsen,  and  Alfred  Lind — until  1884,  when 
a  new  executive  of  three  was  chosen,  after  the  analogy  of  the 
order  of  affairs  introduced  in  the  Eastern  islands — George  Henry 
Hanna,  President;  Alfred  Lind,  Treasurer,  and  Callendcr  Smyth, 
Secretary.  General  mission  conferences  were  appointed  in  both 
missionary  provinces  for  every  five  years,  when  a  new  election 
of  the  executive  should  take  place.  Provision  was  made  for 
the  convening  of  this  assembly  in  the  Eastern  Province  in  such 
a  manner  that  each  island  should  be  adequately  represented. 
Here  the  executive  was  constituted  of  Benjamin  Romig,  Presi- 
dent;  Samuel  Warner,  Treasurer,  and  John  Lewis  Hasting, 
Secretary — reelected  in  1884.  In  every  case  the  election, 
whether  proceeding  from  the  general  conference,  or  as  in  the 
Eastern  islands  in  1884  by  the  vote  of  all  the  ordained  mission- 
aries, was  subject  to  the  approval  and  confirmation  of  the  Mis- 
sion Board.  Upon  the  removal  of  Benjamin  Romig  to  Berth- 
elsdorf  in  1887,  Theodore  Xiebert  was  chosen  his  successor  as 
President  of  the  Eastern  executive,  and  when  Hasting  retired 
from  active  service  on  account  of  ill  health  in  1887,  Frederick 
Clemens  became  Secretary.  A  further  change  was  necessitated 
in  the  following  year,  when  both  the  Treasurer  and  the  Secre- 
tary returned  home  owing  to  illness.  Samuel  L.  Thaeler  under- 
took the  duties  of  the  former,  whilst  those  of  the  latter  fell  to 
Henry  Weiss. 

Unfortunately  for  both  divisions  with  the  increase  in  the  pro- 
duction of  European  beet-sugar,  the  cane  industry.  West 
India's  chief  source  of  wealth,  steadily  declined.  Employment 
became  uncertain,  and  wages  constantly  fell.  Under  the  cir- 
cumstances the  steady  decrease  in  the  appropriation  from  the 
mission  treasury  in  aid  of  the  West  Indian  work  caused  hard- 
ship, and  the  achievement  of  self-support  within  the  decade  was 
found  an  impossibility,  notwithstanding  the  loyal  efforts  of  mis- 
sionaries and  people. 

An  indispensable  condition  of  self-support  was  the  develop- 
ment of  a  native  ministry.  The  death  of  Badham  in  1879  ^^^^ 
resulted  in  the  temporary  closing  of  the  theological  seminary  in 
Jamaica.  The  task  of  establishing  a  like  institution  at  Nisky 
in  St.  Thomas  was  now  assigned  to  Augustus  Romig-.     But  an 


l80  A    HISTORY    OF 

affection  of  the  throat  conipcllcd  liini  to  roHnquish  tlio  task 
after  a  few  months  in  iS86,  and  Edward  Foster  was  called  from 
England  as  his  successor.  Later  the  Western  Province  renewed 
an  attempt  to  prepare  caiulidates  for  the  ministry  in  connec- 
tion with  the  normal  school  at  l-'airlield,  but  in  i88S  this  was 
once  more  abandoned  owing  to  untoward  circumstances. 

Progress  in  numbers  characterizetl  the  work  in  both  portions 
of  the  iield  throughout  the  decatle.  Jamaica  making  a  gain  of 
more  than  fifteen  hundred,  and  the  Eastern  islands  of  more  than 
two  thousatul  five  hundred. 

Of  special  imj^ortance  for  the  future  of  the  mission  in  Jamaica 
was  the  recognition  of  the  church  as  a  body  corporate  in  1884, 
title  to  the  mission  property  in  the  island  being  vested  in  the 
Provincial  Conference  of  the  island  together  with  the  President 
of  the  British  Provincial  Elders'  Conference  and  the  Mission 
Secretary  in  London. 

In  the  Eastern  islands  a  noteworthy  event  was  the  erection 
of  a  memorial  church  in  the  city  o'f  St.  Thomas,  to  commemo- 
rate the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Moravian  mis- 
sions, large  gifts  being  received  for  this  purpose  from  all  parts 
of  the  Brethren's  Unity.  The  foundation  of  a  massive  stone 
structure  was  laid  on  August  21,  1882,  and  the  dedication  took 
place  on  May  16,  1884.  The  queen  of  Denmark  on  this  occa- 
sion took  opportunity  to  convey  her  warm  appreciation  of  the 
beneficent  results  of  the  missionary  labors  of  the  Brethren. 

As  in  Jamaica,  steps  were  also  taken  in  the  Eastern  islands 
to  secure  the  title  to  mission  property;  but  here  the  varied  con- 
dition oi  things  on  the  different  islands  and  the  fact  that 
different  governmeiUs  had  to  be  dealt  with  protracted  the  nego- 
tiations. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1879  ]\Ir.  Quintin  Hogg,  the 
patron  of  the  mision  in  Demerara,  paid  a  visit  to  his  estates  in 
that  colony.  Now  he  asked  that  Alexander  Pilgrim  might  be 
sent  to  the  Reliance  plantation  near  the  Essequibo.  This  took 
place  in  April.  .\  further  extension  followed  in  i88j.  In 
the  village  of  Beterverwachting  there  lived  a  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Congregational  church,  who  had  separated  from 
their  parent  organization  in  1863,  and  since  then  had  been 
served  by  their  own  deacons.  Once  a  month  an  ordained  min- 
ister had  administered  the  sacraments.  But  in  the  course  of 
years  he  had  accepted  a  call  elsewhere.       Now  fifty-seven  of 


MORAVIAN    MISSION'S.  l8l 

these  people  asked  to  be  received  into  the  Brethren's  Church 
and  regarded  as  constituting  a  filial  of  Graham's  Hall.  The 
request  was  granted.  By  the  end  of  the  year  1888  there  were 
one  hundred  and  twenty  communicants  here  alone,  whilst  the 
membership  at  Graham's  liall  had  grown  to  four  hundred  and 
forty-five,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  were  com- 
municants. Reliance  on  the  other  hand  failed  of  success, 
chiefly  through  the  opposition  of  a  high  church  clergyman,  and 
was  therefore  abandoned.  Moreover  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1884  the  patron  of  the  mission  gave  notice  that  the  decline  of 
the  sugar  industry  rendered  it  impossible  for  liiin  to  as  largely 
sustain  the  work  in  Demerara  as  heretofore. 

Meantime  in  the  Surinam  mission  numbers  grew  very  rapidly. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  1888,  26,106  adherents  could  be  reported, 
an  increase  of  more  than  5,000  when  compared  with  the  total 
ten  years  before.  The  growth  was  not  an  even  one.  On  the 
plantations,  especially  those  near  the  capital,  a  decline  followed 
the  abandonment  of  sugar  production,  and  the  consequent 
removal  of  the  people  to  tov.n.  Along  the  Coronie  and  Nicke- 
rie,  where  the  negroes  cultivated  their  own  land,  an  increase 
was  perceptible,  for  instance  at  Salem  and  Waterloo.  In  Para- 
maribo itself,  the  seven  thousand  three  hundred  in  church  con- 
nection had  become  thirteen  thousand.  Distinct  organizations 
had  been  budded  oft',  Rust-en-\'rede  in  1882  and  W'anika  in 
1886.  These  with  Combe  and  the  old  church  grew  rapidly,  the 
central  organization  leading  with  a  total  membership  of  8.280. 

This  rapid  growth  in  numbers  in  the  city  proved  no  unmixed 
blessing.  Slavery's  heritage  of  evil  in  connection  with  se.xual 
morality,  and  the  practical  difficulties  placed  in  the  way  of  poor 
persons  by  the  cost  attendant  upon  the  recognition  of  mar- 
riages by  the  ci\nl  authorities,  rendered  necessary  numerous 
exclusions  from  church  membership.  At  the  same  time 
arrangements  that  sufficed  for  the  administration  of  discipline 
whilst  the  congregation  remained  small,  were  now  inadequate. 
To  add  to  the  difticulties  a  prominent  missionary  in  August, 
1879.  became  conscientiously  insubordinate,  carried  away  by 
peculiar  views  concerning  church  discipline,  holding  that  exclu- 
sion must  be  determined  by  the  congregation  and  not  by  the 
missionaries.  He  refused  to  yield  either  to  the  Provincial 
authorities  or  to  the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference.  An  official 
visit  on  the  part  of  Eugene  Reichel  and  Theophilus  van  Calker 


1 82  A    HISTORY    OF 

in  1880  resulted  in  his  dismissal  and  the  remodeling  of  the 
arrangements  for  the  cure  and  care  of  souls.  For  a  time 
trouble  still  made  itself  felt  beneath  the  surface.  But  gradually 
a  better  state  of  things  arose.  The  erring  missionary  made 
acknowledgment,  and  besought  reinstatement.  After  a  time 
he  was  given  the  means  of  earning  a  livelihood  in  connection 
with  secular  employment  carried  on  for  the  benefit  of  the  mis- 
sion. The  erection  of  the  Rust-en- Vrede  church  afforded 
opportunity  for  the  employment  of  energies,  and  caused  a  beam 
of  light  to  radiate  the  darkened  sky.  But  new  difficulties  arose 
in  connection  with  problems  of  church  discipline.  John  Haller, 
the  missionary  now  charged  with  the  general  oversight  in  this 
connection,  like  his  predecessor  but  from  a  different  standpoint 
in  his  turn  failed  to  act  in  agreement  with  his  colleagues  in 
Paramaribo,  and  with  the  Mission  Board,  being  inclined  to 
compromise  that  tended  to  laxity,  from  his  appreciation  of  the 
perplexity  in  which  the  colored  people  were  placed  by  the  cost- 
liness of  civil  regulations  regarding  marriage.  For  a  brief 
period  discipline  was  at  a  low  ebb.  The  controversy  in  time 
so  preyed  upon  Haller's  health,  that  in  1885  a  furlough  became 
necessary.  He  was  not  destined  to  return  to  Surinam.  In 
December,  1886,  he  died,  at  the  age  of  forty-five,  a  brother  of 
rare  personal  gifts,  but  of  a  temperament  which  unfitted  him 
for  collegiate  labors.  Now  the  "native  helpers"  themselves 
commenced  a  movement  for  the  attainment  of  a  higher 
standard  of  discipline,  and  in  1893  the  colonial  government 
altered  the  laws  which  had  impeded  true  marriage  on  the  part 
of  the  negroes. 

An  increase  in  numbers  also  characterized  the  work  in  South 
Africa,  more  particularly  that  among  the  Kalifirs.  In  the  West- 
ern Province  the  drift  of  population  to  the  capital  took  thither 
many  young  people  from  the  mission  stations.  During  the 
visit  of  Bishop  Kiihn  in  1882  and  1883,  the  advisability  of  gath- 
ering these  scattered  children  of  the  mission  into  a  congrega- 
tion in  Cape  Town  was  discussed.  On  his  return  the  Mission 
Board  entered  into  the  project,  and  Philip  Emil  Hickel  was 
called.  He  met  with  hearty  sympathy  from  Christian  friends, 
and  the  consecration  of  a  church  and  school  on  Moravian  Hill 
took  place  in  1886  and  1887. 

In  November,  1887,  it  became  possible  to  take  a  step  in  ad- 
vance in  connection  with  the  normal  school  at  Genadendal,  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  83 

formation  of  a  class  of  theological  students,  definitely  des- 
tined for  the  ministry.  Prior  to  this  the  first  ordinations 
of  native  brethren  had  already  transpired,  Bishop  Kiihn  hav- 
ing received  John  Xakin,  Charles  Jonas  and  John  Zwelibanzi 
into  the  ranks  of  the  ministry  on  January  7,  Januar}-  28  and 
February  11,  1883,  at  Shiloh,  at  Enon  and  at  Clarkson.  Through- 
out the  congregations  also  the  desirability  of  attaining  self-sup- 
port was  beginning  to  manifest  itself  more  plainly  in  the  steady 
increase  in  contributions,  alike  for  meeting  the  stated  expenses 
and  for  defraying  the  cost  of  repairs  to  churches  and  schools,  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  gradual  impoverishment  of  the  Colony.  The 
decline  in  colonial  prosperity  meanwhile  had  its  embarrassing 
effect  upon  the  various  enterprises  prosecuted  for  the  benefit 
of  the  mission ;  nor  did  the  desired  success  attend  the  effort  to 
introduce  new  industries,  silk-culture,  the  growth  of  arrowroot, 
the  production  of  castor  oil,  etc.  With  it  all  the  future  of  one 
congregation  was  temporarily  placed  in  jeopardy  by  the  death 
of  aged  Christina  Lewis  of  Goedverwacht,  the  last  of  the  slaves 
of  Mr.  Buergers,  in  December,  1888.  It  could  scarcely  be  fore- 
seen that  the  thirteen  persons  whom  the  government  deter- 
mined as  his  heirs,  should  reject  the  tempting  offers  of  neighbor- 
ing planters,  desirous  of  purchasing  their  valuable  patrimony, 
and  in  a  spirit  of  splendid  self-sacrifice  should  offer  it  to  the 
church  at  a  nominal  figure,  and  then  individually  make  liberal 
contributions  towards  the  erection  of  a  permanent  house  of 
worship. 

The  Kaffir  mission,  embracing  the  three  older  posts  in  the 
Colony  proper,  Shiloh,  Goshen  and  Engotini,  together  with  the 
two  widely  separated  groups  in  Tembuland  and  East  Griqua- 
land  (Nomansland)  experienced  liuctuations,  expansion  pre- 
vailing on  the  whole.  In  consequence  of  the  war  with  insur- 
gent Basutos  and  Tanibookies,  in  1880  and  i88r,  Entwanazana 
had  to  be  abandoned  and  was  looted  and  burnt.  Baziya  and 
Tabase  experienced  similar  misfortunes  in  1880.  but  were  reoc- 
cupied  and  rebuilt.  On  the  other  hand  Bethcsda  and  Ezincuka 
in  1883  and  1887  advanced  to  the  status  of  fully  equipped  sta- 
tions, and  Mnari  or  Xxotschane  and  Magadla  in  Hlubiland 
became  out-stations. 

In  both  divisions  of  the  South  African  field  difficulties  arose 
in  relation  to  the  title  to  the  stations  and  mission  property, 
complicated  especially  in  Shiloh  and  Goshen  by  restiveness  of  a 


184  A    HISTORY    OF 

minority  of  members  under  certain  municipal  regulations — 
difficulties  shared  at  the  same  time  and  in  a  similar  manner  by 
the  Anglican  and  Wesleyan  missions.  Negotiations  were  set 
on  foot,  with  a  view  to  secure  a  permanent  decision  from  the 
colonial  parliament.  A  tendency  decidedly  favorable  to  the 
desires  of  the  mission  became  apparent  in  this  high  court  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1888,  but  the  proceedings  protracted  them- 
selves beyond  all  expectation.  Meanwhile  it  was  the  more 
desirable  that  a  decision  on  all  points  at  issue  should  be 
obtained,  since  the  opportunities  for  evangehzation  were  widen- 
ing. Amongst  the  Hlubi  and  Tembu  Kaffirs  alone  it  was  esti- 
m.ated  that  about  eight  thousand  heathen  were  yet  to  be  found. 

In  hope  against  hope  the  West  Himalayan  mission  continued 
to  be  prosecuted,  the  scanty  results  that  came  to  the  surface 
exercising  no  deterrent  effect  upon  the  fidelity  of  missionary 
zeal,  as  httle  as  did  the  lamented  death  of  Pagell  and  of  his  wife 
in  1883.  Here  the  most  notable  occurrence  was  the  founding 
of  a  station  in  Leh,  the  capital  of  Ladak,  and  the  most  import- 
ant town  in  Western  Tibet.  This  transpired  in  December,  1886, 
thanks  to  the  friendly  influence  which  the  British  commissioner, 
Mr.  Elias,  brought  to  bear  in  seconding  the  efforts  of  Heyde 
to  obtain  concessions  from  the  Maharajah  of  Cashmere.  Suc- 
cess had  been  conditioned  on  the  sending  of  a  medical  mission- 
ary to  take  charge  of  the  polyclinic  and  hospital  of  the  city. 
For  this  purpose  Charles  R.  Marx  had  taken  a  degree  in  medi- 
cine at  Edinburgh,  and  now  came  with  his  wife  as  the  coad- 
jutors of  Brother  and  Sister  Redslob,  transferred  to  Leh.  The 
dedication  of  a  place  of  worship  transpired  on  September  2, 
1888. 

Jaeschke,  whose  broken  constitution  had  compelled  a  return 
to  Europe  in  1868,  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  publication  of 
his  invaluable  Tibetan-English  dictionary;  but  his  death  in  1883 
anticipated  the  completion  of  his  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Redslob  with  the  aid  of  the  converted  lama  Nathanael 
supplied  the  missing  books.  In  1884  the  entire  New  Testament 
in  Tibetan  v/as  printed  in  Berlin  at  the  cost  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society.  The  first  copies  reached  Leh  in  1885. 
Redslob  next  undertook  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament; 
and  Genesis,  in  addition  to  the  translations  of  a  treatise  on  the 
Catechism  and  other  works  by  Heyde,  could  speedily  be  sent 
forth  from  the  lithographic  press  at  Kyelang. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  85 

In  Australia,  the  slow  but  steady  decrease  in  the  native  popu- 
lation pointed  to  the  inevitable  certainty  of  the  extinction  of  the 
Papuans  in  the  southern  colonies.  All  the  greater  interest 
therefore  attached  to  the  tribes  of  wild  aborigines  beheved  to 
exist  in  the  northern  portions  of  Queensland.  Three  or  four 
beckonings  of  circumstance  indicated  a  call  to  commence  mis- 
sionary operations  there.  But  as  often  as  an  opening  com- 
manded attention,  other  circumstances  interfered,  even  after  an 
important  tour  which  Hagenauer  made  in  1885,  when  he  met 
with  the  representatives  of  eighteen  tribes  near  Cookberg  and 
the  Bloomiield  River.  Nevertheless  the  Mission  Board  and  the 
United  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Australia  kept 
steadily  in  view  the  importance  of  evangeUzing  these  poor 
savages  and  the  Kanaka  laborers  on  the  sugar  plantations, 
whenever  a  favorable  opportunity  should  offer. 

In  the  year  1887  the  German  Province  gave  signal  proof  that 
the  old  spirit  of  consecration  survived.  In  the  year  1880  the 
ownership  and  the  full  responsibility  for  the  home  for  lepers 
near  Jerusalem  had  been  given  over  to  the  Unity's  Elders'  Con- 
ference. Age  and  the  state  of  his  health  unfitted  Tappe  for 
further  service  in  1884.  His  place  was  taken  by  Francis  Miiller, 
a  student  of  the  institute  at  Niesky.  Numbers  had  been 
increasing  and  the  need  of  a  better  equipment  was  apparent. 
At  a  new  site  just  outside  the  city,  on  the  road  to  Bethlehem, 
a  new  and  larger  house  was  completed  in  1887.  Now  volun- 
teers were  called  for  in  the  German  Moravian  Church  for  ser- 
vice in  the  wards  and  in  the  kitchen.  Nine  brave  women 
responded.  Three  only  were  required ;  and  Paulina  Pletz, 
Augusta  Ehrle  and  Magdalene  Jeflfe  were  accepted  for  the  work. 


1 86  A   HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


■^Ji^ 


THE    FOUNDING    OF    THE    MISSION    IN    ALASKA. 

Discovered  by  Vitus  Bering  in  1742,  and  a  Russian  depend- 
ency for  more  than  a  century,  the  vast  territory  of  Alaska  was 
purchased  from  Russia  in  1867  by  the  United  States  for  $7,200,- 
000.  The  climate  of  the  southern  part  is  comparatively  mild, 
and  very  humid,  owing  to  the  warm  Kuro-Siwo,  or  Japanese 
current,  of  the  Pacific.  The  northern  portion  experiences  the 
terrible  cold  of  protracted  arctic  winters.  Its  people,  estimiated 
at  about  35,000  prior  to  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Yukon, 
have  been  classed  as  Americans,  Russians,  Haidas,  Thlingits, 
Aleuts,  Innuits  or  Eskimos,  and  Athapascan  Indians.  Eight 
distinct  languages  and  several  dialects  are  spoken.  As  a  rule 
the  natives  are  strongly  built,  and  inured  to  hardship.  The  men 
have  slight  beards  or  none  at  all,  and  frequently  trim  closely  the 
scattering  hairs  on  their  chins  or  pluck  them  out.  An  Asiatic 
cast  of  features  predominates.  The  Eskimos  are  distinguished 
from  the  Eskimos  of  Greenland  and  Labrador,  by  being  taller 
and  more  robust.  All  the  various  races  of  Alaska  are  charac- 
terized by  a  rather  massive  head, '  straight  and  coarse  dark 
brown  or  black  hair,  dark  eyes,  high  cheek-bones  and  a  nut- 
brown  or  yellow  complexion. 

The  natives  of  southeastern  Alaska,  taught  by  contact  with 
civiHzation,  have  frame  or  log  houses,  wholly  above  the  ground, 
with  sleeping  apartments  partitioned  ofi  from  the  main  or  living- 
room,  where  the  central  fire-place  is  built;  and  many  of  the 
Thlingits  use  a  modern  cooking-stove.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Eskimos,  being  largely  nomads,  in  summer  occupy  tents 
constructed  of  the  best  material  that  is  at  hand,  skins  or  cotton 
canvas.  In  making  a  winter  house,  a  cellar  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  feet  square  is  dug,  from  three  to  five  feet  deep.  At 
the  corners  and  along  the  sides  of  the  excavation  are  set  posts. 
On  the  outside  of  these  poles  pieces  of  drift-wood  are  laid  one 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I  87 

Upon  another  to  the  top.     Other  timbers  are  placed  across  the 
top,  forming  the  roof  or  ceiHng.     Against  the  outside,  and  upon 
the  roof,  dirt  and  sod  are  piled,  until  the  whole  has  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mound.     A  narrow  platform  extends  along  one  side 
or  several  sides  of  the  room,  upon  which  are  stowed  the  belong- 
ings of  the  family  and  bedding  of  furs.     This  platform  is  also 
the  sleeping  place.     Large  shallow  dishes  of  earthenware,  bone 
or  stone,  filled  with  seal  oil  and  with  wicks  of  moss,  are  the 
combined  stove  and  lamp  of  the  family.     Sometimes  these  lamps 
are  of  huge  dimensions,  two  to  four  feet  in  length  and  eight  to 
ten  inches  in  width,  with  thirty  or  forty  wicks.     In  one  corner 
of  the  hut  frames  are  suspended  in  which  snow  or  ice  may  be 
placed,  which  thawing  and  trickling  into  a  tub  below  shall  fur- 
nish the  water  supply  of  the  family.     At  one  side  of  some  rooms, 
and  in  the  floor  near  the  center  in  others,  there  is  a  small  open- 
ing.    This  is  the  doorway  and  opens  into  a  hall  twelve  to  fifteen 
feet  long  and  very  narrow  and  low,  leading  to  a  well  or  shaft. 
This  shaft  is  six  or  seven  feet  deep  and  leads  up  a  rude  ladder  to 
the  open  air.     Within,  the  combined  smell  of  reeking  oil-lamps, 
rancid   blubber   and   the   effluvia   of  human   beings   and   dogs, 
becomes   malodorous   in  the   extreme.     When   on   hunting  or 
traveling  expeditions,  temporary  snow  huts  are  built,  peaked,  or 
in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  bowl. 

All  villages  of  any  consequence  have  their  public  hall, 
resembling  the  private  dwellings,  only  much  larger.  Some  of 
these  are^ty  feet  square,  twenty  feet  high  and  contain  three 
tiers  or  platforms.  These  buildings  are  known  as  the  kashima 
or  kaslilca.  Here  the  public  festivals  are  held  and  dances  take 
place.  They  are  also  the  common  workshops  in  which  the  men 
make  their  snowshoes.  dog-sleds,  spears  and  other  implements. 
Fishlines  and  nets  and  bird-snares  are  constructed  of  sinews 
and  raw  hide.  Arrows,  spears,  nets,  traps  and  harpoons  with 
f^.oats  made  of  whole  seal-skins  inflated,  are  used  in  hunting, 
though  guns  are  being  introduced  by  the  traders.  For  trans- 
portation on  land  the  people  have  snowshoes  and  dog-teams 
and  sleds,  and  on  the  water  the  kayak  or  bidarka  and  umiak 
or  hidarra.  With  a  frame-work  of  drift-wood,  these  canoes  are 
made  of  skins;  the  kayak  being  a  long,  narrow,  light,  graceful 
craft,  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  feet  long,  tapering  at  either  end, 
with  one,  two,  or  three  holes  for  the  paddiers.  The  umiak  is 
the  family-boat,  and  nuiy  be  from  twenty-four  to  forty  feet  long, 


1 88  A    HISTORY    OF 

with  a  carrying  capacity  for  fifteen  persons  and  twenty  tons  of 
freiglit. 

The  food  supply  of  the  arctic  Alaskans  consists  of  the  white 
whale,  the  walrus,  seal,  deer,  squirrels,  hares,  beavers,  land 
otters,  etc.,  and  of  many  varieties  of  birds,  especially  geese  and 
ducks  and  gulls.  Pish  also  form  a  large  portion  of  the  diet, 
raw,  frozen,  broiled  or  dried.  Berries  are  used  either  in  a  fresh 
state  or  are  mixed  with  whale  or  seal  oil,  or  with  fat  chopped 
fine  and  beaten  into  a  paste — "native  ice  cream."  Love  of 
strong  drink,  in  spite  of  all  law  to  the  contrary,  is  a  special 
curse. 

Ignorant  and  savage,  and  with  a  religion  built  out  of  belief 
in  ghosts  and  evil  spirits,  the  Eskimos  are  superstitious  to  an 
extreme,  and  ascribe  everything  they  do  not  understand  to 
occult  influences,  thus  falling  ready  victims  to  the  chicanery  of 
shrewd  men  who  choose  to  drive  the  profitable  trade  of 
"shamans"  or  witch-doctors.  Believers  also  in  the  transmigra- 
tion of  souls,  they  fancy  that  spirits  enter  even  into  rocks  and 
winds  and  tides  and  animals,  and  that  their  favor  or  malevo- 
lence determines  the  business  of  the  community  as  successful 
or  unsuccessful.  They  also  suppose  that  these  conditions  may 
be  changed  by  sorcery.  By  suitable  incantations,  nonsensical 
mummeries  and  ventriloquism,  the  shaman  can  control  the 
winds  and  tides,  and  can  reward  friends  and  punish  enemies. 
Marriage  is  entered  upon  with  no  special  ceremony.  If  the 
parties  are  young  people,  the  affair  is  largely  arranged  by  the 
parents.  Perhaps  the  young  husband  joins  his  wife's  family, 
and  is  expected  to  hunt  and  fish  for  them.  If  he  refuses  to 
give  his  father-in-law  the  furs  he  takes,  he  is  driven  out  of  the 
house,  and  some  one  else  more  active  or  more  obedient  is 
installed  as  the  husband  of  the  girl.  Sometimes  a  woman  has 
ten  or  twelve  husbands  before  she  settles  down.  In  this  con- 
dition of  things  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that  the  women  become 
indifferent  and  often  false  to  their  husbands,  and  that  childhood 
is  a  pitiful  stage  of  experience.  Love  has  Httle  to  do  with 
family-life,  and  husbands  and  wives  may  be  exchanged  by 
mutual  agreement.  Polygamy  also  prevails  to  a  limited  extent. 
There  are  various  festivals  which  involve  heathen  rites — a  whale 
dance,  seal,  walrus  and  reindeer  dances,  etc.  There  are  festi- 
vals for  the  spirits  of  wives,  of  dead  friends,  of  bidarkas,  etc. 
Inhuman   cruelty  is   sometimes  practiced  towards  the  sick. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  1S9 

The  prevailing  diseases  are  scrofula,  diphtheria,  catarrhal  dis- 
orders, pneumonia,  ulcerations  and  consumption ;  and  the  death 
rate  is  large.  A  superstitious  fear  exists  with  reference  to  a 
death  in  a  house,  so  that  when  the  sick  are  thought  to  be  Hear- 
ing their  end  they  are  carried  out  and  placed  in  an  out-house. 
If  they  do  not  die  as  soon  as  was  expected,  they  are  killed, 
usually  by  the  .y/mwio;/. 

The  dead  are  wrapped  in  skins  and  drawn  on  a  sled  to  the 
rear  of  the  village,  where  they  are  placed  on  scaffolds,  out  of 
the  reach  of  animals,  or  upon  the  ground  and  covered  over  with 
drift-wood,  or,  as  among  some  of  the  tribes,  are  left  upon  the 
ground  to  be  soon  torn  m  pieces  and  devoured  by  the  dogs  of 
the  village. 

The  commencement  of  a  Moravian  mission  in  Alaska  was 
quite  unforeseen  by  the  members  of  that  church  until  soon 
before  its  inception;  and  the  call  came  from  an  unexpected 
quarter. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  "Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  Among  the  Heathen,"  held  on  August  23,  1883,  at 
Bethlehem,  its  President,  Bishop  Edmund  de  SchweinitzTcbm- 
municated  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.D.,  of 
New  York,  then  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  since  1885  "United  States  General 
Agent  of  Education  in  Alaska,"  in  which  he  urged  the  estab- 
lishment by  the  Moravian  Church  of  a  mission  in  Alaska  among 
the  Indians  and  Eskimos.  Instrumental  himself  in  founding 
the  Presbyterian  mission  at  Sitka  a  few  years  before,  Dr.  Jack- 
son considered  the  Moravian  Church  to  be  especially  fitted  for 
this  much-needed  work,  in  view  of  the  long  experience  of  Mora- 
vian missionaries  in  evangelizing  tribes  of  degraded  savages; 
and  stated  that  he  had  unsuccessfully  applied  to  other  denomi- 
nations on  behalf  of  these  neglected  heathen.  The  society 
having  favorably  entertained  his  appeal,  with  the  sanction  of 
the  Department  of  Missions,  Adolphus  Hartmann.  missionary 
among  the  Indians  in  Canada,  and  William  H.  Weinland,  a 
member  of  the  graduating  class  of  the  theological  seminary  at 
Bethlehem,  were  appointed  to  undertake  a  tour  of  exploration. 

Steaming  out  of  San  Francisco  on  May  3.  1884,  in  the  U.  S. 
Revenue  Cutter  Concin,  they  reached  Unalaska  on  :\Iav  16, 
and  thence  proceeded  in  the  Dora,  of  the  .\laska  Commercial 
Company,  across  Bering  Sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Xushagak. 


190  A    HISTORY    OF 

Here  was  a  Greek  church  whose  priest  claimed  the  district  of 
the  Nushag-ak  and  Togiak  Rivers  as  his  parish.  Passing  on  to 
the  Kuskokwim,  they  traveled  up  this  river  beyond  Kolma- 
kovsky  in  two  large  bidarkas.  Their  interpreter  was  Mr.  Lind, 
an  agent  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company.  The  natives 
they  found  approachable.  The  land  seemed  to  be  prevailingly 
flat,  sandy  soil  on  either  side  of  the  river,  covered  with  tundra, 
though  wooded  mountains  appeared  in  the  distance.  Retrac- 
ing their  way  overland  with  the  frequent  use  of  bidarkas  to 
Nushagak,  the  return  voyage  to  San  Francisco  was  made 
without  special  event ;  and  on  September  25  they  reached  Beth- 
lehem in  safety,  recommending  that  a  mission  station  be 
founded  on  the  Kuskokwim,  near  the  native  village  of  Mum- 
trekhlagamiut,  about  eighty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
The  spring  of  1885  sees  a  company  of  missionary  pioneers  in 
San  Francisco,  en  route  for  Bethel,  as  this  projected  station  is 
to  be  named.  They  are  William  H.  Weinland  and  John  Henry 
Kilbuck,  a  Hneal  descendant  of  Gelelemend,  a  Christian  king  of 
the  Delawares  in  the  last  century,  recent  graduates  of  the  theo- 
logical seminary,  with  their  v.dves,  and  Hans  Torgersen,  a  prac- 
tical carpenter,  who  as  a  lay-missionary  will  assist  in  establish- 
ing the  mission.  He  has  left  his  wife  at  New  Fairfield,  where 
he  has  hitherto  been  engaged.  They  charter  a  schooner,  the 
Lizzie  Merrill,  to  convey  themselves  and  their  building  material 
and  supphes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim,  taking  with  them 
a  small  sail-boat,  the  Bethel  Star,  with  which  to  navigate  that 
river.  Weighing  anchor  on  May  18,  they  arrive  at  the  Kusko- 
kwim on  June  19.  Before  ever  their  goods  are  all  at  the  site 
of  the  mission,  Torgersen  on  August  10  is  drowned  in  the  river. 
The  situation  is  most  serious.  Two  young  men,  utterly  inex- 
perienced in  house-building,  with  their  brides  of  a  few  months, 
face  to  face  with  an  arctic  winter,  and  not  having  a  roof  over 
their  heads ;  Kilbuck,  moreover,  sufifering  from  an  affection  of 
the  eyes  that  at  times  almost  blinded  him ;  the  material  which 
they  have  brought  for  the  construction  of  a  house  so  wet  from 
the  frequent  rains  that  they  doubt  whether  they  can  use  it ;  and, 
to  crown  all,  both  of  them  able  to  communicate  with  the  natives 
only  by  "sign  language,"  except  for  the  aid  of  Mr.  TJnd.  Less 
brave  souls  might  have  searched  for  some  possible  means  of  a 
retreat.  Not  so,  these  missionary  couples.  They  dry  their 
lumber  as  best  they  can  in  the  kashima  which  Lind  kindly  places 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  lOI 

at  their  disposal.  They  erect  their  dwelling  according  to  the 
best  of  their  ability;  and  it  is  taken  possession  of  by  them  on 
October  lo.  They  write  concerning  this  time  of  test,  "You 
see  that  we  can  say,  'The  Lord  is  our  Helper.'  " 

The  winter,  which  soon  set  in,  was  unusually  severe.  On 
December  29,  the  thermometer  reached  506-10  degrees  below 
zero.  In  October  neighboring  lakes  were  like  rock  in  the  grasp 
of  the  cold;  and  it  was  the  end  of  May  before  the  river  was 
clear  of  ice. 

In  the  summer  of  1886  a  second  station  was  founded,  in  order 
to  insure  communications,  and  named  Carmel,  on  the  Nusha- 
gak  River,  near  Fort  Alexander,  by  Frank  Wolfif,  who  resigned 
his  pastorate  at  Greenbay,  Wisconsin,  to  volunteer.  Returning 
the  same  year,  next  spring  he  proceeded  thither  with  his  wife 
and  two  children  and  Mary  Huber  of  Lititz. 

In  the  same  year,  the  summer  of  1887,  Weinland  and  his 
family  were  compelled  to  return,  owing  to  severe  sickness— a 
retreat  which  preserved  them  for  a  successful  career  of  pioneer 
mission-work  in  Southern  California;  but  it  was  too  late  to 
send  reenforcements  to  Bethel. 

A  weary,  weary  time  was  the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1887 
to  1888  at  the  lonely  outpost  of  civilization  and  Christianity  on 
the  Kuskokwim.  Work  enough  there  was  to  do.  At  times 
troops  of  natives  covered  with  boils,  the  heritage  of  a  period  of 
semi-starvation,  clamor  for  salves  and  medicines;  the  school 
must  be  taught,  its  seventeen  children  clothed  and  fed— often 
washed,  or  even  disinfected,  when  first  received ;  there  is  a  log- 
house  to  be  built  with  native  help ;  there  are  heavy  parental 
anxieties  about  little  Katie,  the  missionaries'  child,  and  some- 
times the  utter  cruelty  of  the  unfeeling  heathen  is  such  that  it 
would  depress  any  except  the  stoutest-hearted. 

But  dawn  is  at  hand.  It  is  the  Passion  Week,  1888.  Daily 
services,  such  as  are  customary  throughout  the  Moravian 
world,  have  been  commenced  on  Palm  Sunday.  Twice,  or  even 
thrice  a  day,  there  have  been  natives  who  are  willing  to  listen 
for  an  hour  and  a  half  to  two  hours  at  a  time,  to  what  of  the 
language  the  missionary  can  command.  It  is  Good  Friday 
He  is  explaining  that  the  blood  shed  by  Jesus  Christ  on  the 
cross  was  for  the  taking  away  of  all  sin,  when  some  of  the  older 
men  exclaim,  ''Kon-jd-uah!  (Thanks)  We.  too,  desire  to  have 
our  badness  taken  away  by  that  blood."     It  is  Easter  Sunday 


192  A    HISTORY    OF 

at  day-break,  and  forty  people  have  gathered  about  tJic  grave 
of  Torgcrsen.  They  sing,  in  the  native  language,  three  hymns 
of  the  Resurrection.  It  seems  the  message,  that  "He  died  for 
our  sins  and  rose  again  for  our  justification,"  is  balm  for  the 
wounds  of  the  hearts  of  Eskimos,  as  well  as  of  the  Caucasians 
who  have  sent  the  messenger,  and  of  the  Indian  messenger  who 
brings  them  the  glad  tidings.  They  leave  the  grave,  having 
sung  "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

A  number  of  natives  soon  apply  for  membership  in  the 
church — some  have  already  months  ago  hinted  at  such  a  desire, 
before  they  realized  the  full  significance  of  this  step.  A  period 
of  instruction  and  probation  follows,  and  on  September  10, 
1888,  eight  are  gathered  in  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  mission 
amongst  the  Eskimos  in  Alaska. 

On  May  12,  1888,  Ernest  Weber,  of  Gracehill,  Iowa,  who  had 
volunteered  and  had  been  ordained  for  service  in  Alaska,  left 
San  Francisco,  and  arrived  at  his  destination  on  June  16.  He 
is  soon  quite  at  home  in  his  work,  his  arrival  making  it  possible 
to  hasten  the  erection  of  the  log-house  planned  for  a  school  and 
chapel. 

At  the  beginning  of  December  he  takes  Kilbuck's  place  as 
teacher  in  the  school,  for  the  latter  on  the  third  of  the  month 
starts  off  with  a  dog-team  for  a  five  weeks'  visit  to  Carmel, 
where  he  would  confer  with  the  missionaries  about  their  work. 
But  though  man  may  propose,  it  is  God  who  disposes.  The 
difficulties  of  travel  and  the  heavy  rains  so  prolong  the  journey 
thither  that  Christmas  has  passed  before  he  reaches  the  other 
mission-station.  Then  terrible  storms  and  intensest  cold  delay 
the  return.  Seventy-three  days  elapse  before  he  reappears  at 
home,  like  one  risen  from  the  dead,  "his  hair  and  beard  long 
and  his  face  all  covered  with  black  spots  where  it  had  been 
frozen."  The  thermometer  during  this  period  had  registered 
59°  below  zero.  It  had  been  a  miracle  that  he  got  through  with 
his  life.  "No  wood  but  green  willow  brush  to  burn,  and  very 
little  food  to  be  gotten  for  his  teams  of  fifteen  dogs."  Mean- 
time his  wife,  worn  out  with  overwork  at  home,  had  been  seized 
with  serious  illness,  and  was  confined  for  several  weeks  to  her 
bed.  Yet  grace  sustained  her,  so  that  she  could  write :  "Never 
before  did  I  feel  the  nearness  and  dearness  of  my  Saviour  so 
thoroughly." 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I93 

This  visit  to  Carmcl  made  it  possible  to  send  tidings  home 
in  February  instead  of  mid-summer,  by  the  kind  offices  of  Lord 
Lonsdale,  who  was  about  to  close  an  adventurous  tour  in  the 
arctic  regions.  Already  the  conviction  had  become  fixed,  that 
additional  help  should  be  sent  to  both  stations,  and  a  call  had 
gone  forth  for  volunteers.  Now,  it  appeared  as  though  the 
brave  woman  who  had  so  long  toiled  to  the  utmost  of  her 
strength  without  female  help  at  Bethel  might  be  compelled  to 
return  home,  for  a  time  at  least.  The  news  sent  a  thrill  through 
the  Moravian  Church  in  America.  Fully  nineteen  volunteers 
came  forward  for  service  in  Alaska.  Two  were  selected.  John 
Herman  Schoechert,  of  Watertown,  Wisconsin,  who  was  subse- 
quently ordained,  was  appointed  to  go  to  Carmel ;  and  Carrie 
Detterer,  of  Riverside,  New  Jersey,  a  daughter  of  a  former  pas- 
tor of  the  Moravian  congregation  there,  was  chosen  for  Bethel. 
In  addition,  the  wife  of  Bishop  Henry  T.  Bachman,  one  of  the 
Provincial  Elders  of  the  American  Moravian  Church,  North, 
offered  to  go  to  Bethel  for  one  year,  with  her  youngest  son,  in 
order  to  give  IVIrs.  Kilbuck  the  rest  she  so  much  needed. 

Accordingly  this  new  company  of  missionaries  sailed  from 
San  Francisco  on  May  15,  1889,  separating  at  Unalaska,  to 
arrive  safely  at  their  respective  destinations  about  a  week  apart 
in  June.  At  Bethel  health  had  been  restored  to  Mrs.  Kilbuck, 
so  that  her  absence  from  her  post  was  not  required.  About 
twenty  children  were  attending  the  school.  The  little  congre- 
gation numbered  twenty-two,  not  counting  the  missionaries. 
At  Carmel  the  absence  of  the  Greek  priest,  who  had  left  for  San 
Francisco,  rendered  labor  more  agreeable.  During  the  sum- 
mer the  ministrations  of  Wolff  to  the  men  of  the  canneries 
seemed  to  be  not  wholly  resultless.  Louis  Giinther,  a  German 
sailor,  had  confessed  his  faith  and  joined  the  church.  Two  of 
the  girls  of  the  school  were,  moreover,  candidates  for  member- 
ship in  the  church.  Here  the  number  of  scholars  in  October, 
1889,  was  thirty-one. 

Tn  this  year  a  "Brief  Grammar  and  Vocabulary  of  the  Eskimo 
Language  of  North-lVestern  Alaska"  was  prepared  and  published 
by  Augustus  Schultze,  D.D.,  President  of  the  Moravian  College 
and  Theological  Seminary,  as  a  help  to  future  missionaries.  A 
new  and  greatly  enlarged  edition  came  out  in  1894. 


14 


194  A   HISTORY   OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII.    i 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  MISSION   IN  GERMAN   EAST  AFRICA. 

About  mid-way  in  the  route  of  the  Cape  to  Cairo  railway,  the 
great  trans-continental  line  of  Africa,  lies  the  sphere  of  influ- 
ence assigned  to  Germany  by  the  Conference  of  the  Powers  in 
Berlin  in  1885.  Victoria  Nyanza  and  snowy  Kilimanjaro  form 
its  northern  boundary  marks.  The  Indian  Ocean  washes  its 
eastern  shore.  Lakes  Nyasa  and  Tanganyika  fix  its  limits  to 
south  and  west. 

With  good  reason  Caucasians  have  been  wont  to  shudder  at 
the  thought  of  tropical  Africa.  Its  sluggish  waterways  and 
tangled  jungles  symbolize  death.  "There  the  voyager  drives  his 
paddle  through  a  waste  of  fetid  mire,  where  mangroves  spread 
their  dingy  leaves  to  hide  foul  depths  of  putrefaction  among 
their  rotting  roots.  Sour  odors  of  decay  mingle  with  the  sickly 
sweetness  of  blossoms  in  the  hot  fever-laden  mist,  that  shrouds 
the  rankness  of  vegetation  on  either  bank  except  at  noon." 
Such  a  characterization  suits  the  flat  lowlands  of  equatorial 
Africa  near  the  sea.  But  the  East  Africa  of  Moravian  mission- 
aries is  happier  land,  though  even  here  the  white  man  must  run 
the  gauntlet  of  fever,  before  reaching  the  healthier  highlands. 

Directly  north  of  Lake  Nyasa,  and  to  east  and  west  of  its 
northern  end,  rise  mighty  peaks  joined  by  glorious  ranges  of 
hills.  Six  to  seven  thousand  feet  are  often  reached.  Rungwe 
towers  up  nearly  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Here  on 
one  of  the  foot  hills  is  a  point  occupied  by  white  men  early  in 
the  nineties.  Amid  a  clearing  on  this  mountain,  about  four 
thousand  feet  up,  houses  of  brick  with  shady  verandahs  and 
thatched  roofs  form  their  homes.  Rungwe  rears  its  mighty 
head  three  miles  to  the  northeast.  Its  precipitous  sides  are 
mostly  naked  rock.  Yet  soft  grass  clothes  the  ledges,  and  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  passes  and  in  the  ravines  a  luxuriant  forest 
growth  abounds.     About  the  station  the  fertile  soil  has  accorded 


MOR.\VIAN    MISSIONS.  I95 

a  propitious  welcome  to  fruit  trees  aud  garden  plants.  Many 
springs  gush  from  the  slopes,  and  a  clear  stream  dashes  ilown 
a  stony  ravine.  The  air  is  pure,  and  the  climate  healthy  though 
hot.  To  south  and  southeast  and  west  and  north  the  charms 
of  Kondeland  lie  spread  to  view,  the  east  shut  in  by  the  great 
wall  of  the  Livingstone  Range,  twelve  thousand  feet  high  and 
more.  Elsewhere  the  lofty  fertile  plateau,  broken  by  peaks  and 
cut  by  gorges,  presents  glimpses  of  villages  of  round,  conical 
roofed  huts,  peeping  out  from  among  glossy  dark  green  banana 
groves  or  well  tilled  fields  of  maize  or  mighty  forests  of  mag- 
nificent Muaz'c  trees,  the  lindens  of  Kondeland.  Gigantic  tree 
ferns  curtain  the  steeps,  down  which  mountain  torrents  roar. 
In  the  long  grass  of  the  lowlands  buffaloes  and  wild  swine  and 
panthers  and  hyenas  are  hiding.  Twenty-five  miles  away  shim- 
mers the  clear  blue  of  the  great  lake. 

Here  dwells  a  veritable  tangle  of  tribes.  They  all  belong  to 
the  superior  Bantu  stock ;  but  the  internecine  wars  of  centu- 
ries and  the  raids  of  Arab  slavers  have  driven  to  these  highlands 
a  variety  of  peoples,  distinguished  by  differences  of  speech  and 
tribal  peculiarities.  An  inability  to  organize,  reciprocal  strife 
of  village  with  village,  unconditional  subjection  to  their  petty 
chiefs,  and  the  insidious  corruptions  of  Arab  slavers,  who  intro- 
duce weapons,  powder  and  brandy,  the  while  they  foment 
mutual  strife,  explain  in  large  measure  the  failure  of  the  men 
of  equatorial  Africa  to  work  out  a  worthy  destiny. 

The  people  themselves  present  traits  of  superiority,  as  com- 
pared with  otlrer  Africans.  Physically  and  intellectually  the 
Bantus  are  a  tine  stock,  manly  and  erect  in  form  and  gait. 
Their  women,  if  clad  in  civilized  dress,  would  many  of  them 
claim  a  certain  type  of  beauty.  All  esteem  cleanliness.  Their 
houses,  circular  and  palm-thatched,  are  kept  tidy  and  their  vil- 
lages neat.  For  savages  they  are  comparatively  good-natured, 
and  peace  loving.  On  the  whole  they  enjoy  contentment  and 
happiness.     r>rave  in  war,  their  fortune  is  deserved. 

Yet  after  all  credit  has  been  given,  they  remain  pagan  sav- 
ages. Mistrust,  innate  beggary,  greed,  and  unblushing  theft, 
and  amazing  conceit  and  self-righteousness  meet  in  them. 
Litigation  and  strife  over  ownership  of  cattle  constantly  dis- 
turb family  peace.  Theirs  is  a  curious  idea  of  justice.  A 
favorite  method  of  deciding  the  merits  of  a  suit  is  by  the  ordeal 
of  drinking  Muafi.     Muafi,  a  juice  pressed  from  the  leaves  and 


196  A   HISTORY   OF 

tender  twigs  of  a  certain  tree,  is  a  strong  poison.  But  it  may 
be  so  diluted  as  to  become  only  an  emetic.  When  resort  is  had 
to  this  ordeal  the  sorcerer  prepares  the  drink  in  two  cups — and 
here  is  his  opportunity  for  fraud,  and  thereby  for  increasing  his 
influence.  The  two  litigants  drink  in  the  presence  of  the  vil- 
lagers. He  who  is  first  compelled  to  vomit  is  the  man  who  has 
justice  on  his  side.  His  opponent  must  pay  him  a  fine  of  so 
and  so  many  cattle. 

The  position  of  woman  may  be  higher  among  the  Konde 
people  than  among  many  Africans.  But  here,  too,  polygamy 
is  limited  only  by  a  man's  ability  to  buy  and  keep  wives.  An 
ox  or  two  is  the  price.  An  old  man  with  adult  children  will  buy 
as  a  new  wife  a  young  girl  of  ten,  who  is  not  to  leave  her  parents' 
house  until  grown  up.  Yet  the  transfer  of  cattle  is  made. 
When  the  maiden  becomes  conscious  of  her  charms,  she  prefers 
some  stalwart  young  warrior  and  elopes  with  him.  The 
aggrieved  bridegroom  that  was  to  be  seeks  to  recover  his  cattle. 
The  father  protests  he  could  not  hinder  the  flight,  and  the  cattle 
are  his.  So  a  feud  arises  between  the  venerable  bridegroom 
and  his  younger  father-in-law  and  the  family  of  his  successful 
rival.  As  among  all  savages,  moreover,  toil  belongs  to  women. 
They  till  the  fields  of  maize,  and  gather  bananas,  whilst  lordly 
man  enjoys  the  chase,  or  glories  in  battle,  or  lolls  at  his  ease 
with  his  pipe. 

Mighty  influence  is  possessed  by  the  medicine-men,  for  firm 
belief  in  witchcraft  prevails,  and  with  it  cruel  penalties  are  im- 
posed on  those  thought  to  be  convicted  of  injuring  others 
through  its  means. 

These  people  have  some  conception  of  God,  a  conception  ele- 
vated above  that  of  fetish  worship.  Yet  dark  ignorance  and 
confused  contradictions  inhere  in  their  religious  sense  and 
usages.  That  there  must  be  a  divine  creator,  they  appreciate. 
But  his  very  dignity  renders  him  unseen,  inapproachable,  and 
carries  with  it  the  impossibility  of  a  revelation.  They  name 
him  "Mbamba,''  the  Good,  or  "Kiara,"  the  Heaven.  He  is  abso- 
lute goodness,  but  absolutely  removed  from  men.  They  neither 
worship  him  nor  ofTer  sacrifices.  Yet  in  special  exigencies  the 
village  chief  may  guide  his  people  into  the  depth  of  the  forest, 
where  echoes  of  nature's  sounds  are  divine  voices.  Under  the 
chief's  lead  they  dance  there,  and  call  on  "Mbamba."  Then 
they  place  the  leaves  of  a  certain  tree  in  their  mouths,  chew 


TRAVEL    IN    GERMAN    EAST    AFRICA. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  I97 

them  lightly,  and  take  a  sip  of  beer.  Now  the  beer  is  blown 
out  through  the  leaves  as  a  fine  spray.  This  is  their  only  form 
of  devotion.  The  ceremony  concludes  with  feasting  and  dili- 
gent drinking  of  beer.  They  suppose  that  the  unseen  god 
dwells  in  the  forest  depths,  and  is  pleased  to  be  honored  thus. 

In  1891  four  young  missionaries  of  the  Moravian  Church 
came  to  these  people  of  the  Konde  highlands.  About  the  same 
time  the  Berlin  Missionary  Society  began  operations  to  the  east. 
Isolated  in  the  almost  trackless  wilderness,  the  Moravians  com- 
menced to  build  about  forty  miles  from  the  nearest  outpost  of 
the  German  government,  with  great  mountains  intervening. 
An  utterly  unknown  language  had  to  be  learnt.  Their  base  of 
supi)lies,  at  Quelimane  on  the  coast,  was  several  hundred  miles 
and  several  weeks'  journey  distant.  Dreadful  fevers  were 
inevitable.  George  Martin  died  before  the  first  house  was 
built.  Other  missionaries  died  within  a  few  years.  Though  not 
hostile,  the  people  were  wholly  indifferent,  feeling  no  need  of 
a  Saviour  because  without  a  true  sense  of  sin.  Ingratitude  on 
the  part  of  slaves  who  were  nursed  out  of  sickness  after  being 
rescued  from  the  Arabs  by  German  soldiers,  had  to  be  endured. 

At  Utengule,  a  station  begun  some  twenty  miles  to  the  north- 
west, Chief  Merere  forbade  his  people  to  attend  the  services, 
and  for  a  time  they  refused  to  sell  provisions.  Merere  had  sold 
land  for  a  mission  with  the  purpose  of  gaining  the  white  men 
as  valuable  allies  in  war.  He  had  been  driven  from  his  old 
home  by  the  fierce  Wahehes,  and  plotted  revenge.  When  the 
favorable  time  came  he  sent  for  missionary  Theophil  Richard. 
The  interview  took  place  in  an  open  court  before  his  fortress, 
whore  Merere  lay  in  the  sun  haughtily  lolling  on  an  ox-hide. 
Instead  of  consenting  to  join  the  raid,  Richard  warned  iiim 
against  robbery  and  murder.  But  he  spoke  only  of  victory  and 
revenge.  "Victory?"  asked  Richard,  "how  do  you  know  you 
will  conquer?  You  may  be  defeated  and  fall  in  the  fight.  In 
that  case,  are  you  ready  to  go  before  the  presence  of  God, 
whose  will  you  have  ncjt  done?"  The  war  commenced.  A 
pitched  i)attlc  was  followed  by  a  hasty  flight  back  to  Utengule. 
And  now  the  position  of  Richard  became  critical  indeed. 
Merere  might  vent  his  wrath  on  him  who  had  been  a  prophet 
of  evil.  The  pursuing  conquerers  might  identify  the  missionary 
with  their  foes.  But  God  held  his  hand  over  him,  and  kept  him 
safe  from  both,  though  the  breach  between  Merere  and   the 


198  A   HISTORY   OF 

mission  now  became  fixed.  Merere  ordered  Richard  to  leave. 
But  he  refused  to  go.  Thereafter  even  in  Utengule  the  gospel 
began  to  conquer. 

At  Rungwe  peculiar  interest  attended  the  first  baptism. 
The  missionary  Traugott  Bachman  was  to  leave  Rungwe  for 
Ipiana,  a  station  recently  established  on  the  north-w^est  shore 
of  Lake  Nyasa.  On  February  7,  1897,  he  preached  his  farewell 
sermon  on  the  parable  of  the  tares  among  the  wheat.  When 
he  had  closed,  all  unexpectedly  a  woman  who  had  been  under 
instruction,  Fiabarema  by  name,  arose.  She  stepped  up  to  the 
pulpit  and  said :  "I  have  risen  to  say  that  I  belong  to  God.  I 
wish  to  follow  Jesus  and  to  belong  to  Him  alone.  By  the  power 
of  God  I  must  shun  sin.  God  is  my  father."  A  death-Hke  still- 
ness prevailed  in  the  church  as  the  missionary  replied,  "God 
has  heard  what  you  have  said,  Fiabarema !  Do  this,  and  God 
will  take  you  as  His  child."  Then  followed  the  closing  prayer, 
as  usual.  The  people  said,  "The  woman  is  drunk."  But  her 
confession  of  faith  had  made  a  deep  impression.  That  evening 
she  was  baptized  in  the  church,  hastilly  decorated  with  flowers, 
and  took  the  name  Niuniiagire,  that  is,  "I  have  found  him — 
Jesus." 

After  less  than  nine  years  the  status  of  the  work  was  as  fol- 
lows :  four  stations  were  manned  in  the  Nyasa  country,  Rungwe, 
Ipiana,  Rutengania  and  Utengule,  and  foundations  were 
being  laid  at  Mbozi  (Nika).  About  them  was  a  population  of 
from  forty-five  to  fifty  thousand  souls  according  to  the  mission- 
aries' estimate,  or  of  from  seventy  to  eighty  thousand  accord- 
ing to  the  reckoning  of  government  officials.  Nineteen  mis- 
sionaries were  engaged.  More  than  one  hundred  converts 
formed  the  membership  of  the  Christian  church  in  their  care. 
Theodore  Meyer  from  the  first  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
undertaking  in  the  Nyasa  region,  and  Theophil  Richard  man- 
ager of  its  external  interests. 

In  consequence  of  the  founding  of  this  mission,  the  church 
in  1896  took  over  from  the  London  Missionary  Society  the 
Urambo  mission  some  three  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  near 
where  the  Gombe  River  makes  its  way  towards  the  northern 
end  of  Lake  Tanganyika.  Thus,  by  agreement  with  other  mis- 
sionary organizations  on  the  continent  and  in  Britain,  the  Mora- 
vian Church  assumed  responsibility  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  western  half  of  German  East  Africa. 


THE  MORAVIAN  CHURCH.  IQQ 

Moreover  the  men  and  women  who  went  thither  in  response 
to  the  call  were  characterized  by  a  spirit  worthy  of  the  best 
missionary  traditions  of  the  church.  When  prior  to  the  synod 
of  1899  the  great  deficit  rested  like  a  load  upon  the  undertak- 
ings of  the  Unity  and  retrenchment  appeared  inevitable,  they 
met  in  conference  to  discuss  their  relation  to  this  deficit.  They 
realized  that  East  Africa  had  entailed  heavy  outlays  since  1891. 
They  knew  also  that  it  had  involved  for  themselves  much  that 
men  reckon  as  sacrifice.  Near  them  were  the  graves  of  com- 
panions and  co-workers.  But  they  wrote  home  to  the  Board: 
"Brethren,  if  retrenchment  is  unavoidable,  we  beg  you  not  to 
recall  us.  Rather  than  abandon  the  work  God  has  given  us, 
we  will  relinquish  claim  to  your  support,  and  will  do  our  work 
wholly  at  our  own  cost."  Resolves  like  this  are  a  wholesome 
demonstration,  that  the  instinct  of  Christianity  remains  essen- 
tially what  it  was  in  the  apostolic  age.  Happy  is  the  church 
privileged  from  time  to  time  to  receive  and  loyally  respond  to 
such  stimulus  from  its  standard  bearers  in  the  field.  Made 
universal,  and  everywhere  yielded  to,  this  spirit  would  enable 
"the  hosts  of  God  to  fill  the  whole  world  with  a  knowledge  of 
Christ  in  this  generation." 


200  A   HISTORY   OF 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


A   BRIEF   SURVEY   OF  THE  FIELD   DURING  THE   CLOSING   YEARS   OF 
THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

With  the  constant  extension  of  operations  Moravian  Mis- 
sions during  the  closing  years  of  the  century  became  more  than 
ever  a  work  of  faith.  To  the  pieviously  existing  fields  four 
were  added  in  1890 — Trinidad,  California,  North  Queensland 
and  Nyasaland,  and  in  1896  Urambo  in  Unyamwesi,  in  German 
East  Africa. 

The  first  practically  constituted  an  extension  of  the  West  In- 
dian work,  a  considerable  nucleus  of  members  being  to  hand, 
emigrants  from  less  fortunate  centers  of  industry  in  British  or 
Danish  islands.  Commenced  by  way  of  experiment  at  St.  Made- 
leine, in  1892  a  church  was  dedicated  on  August  2  in  the  capital, 
Port  of  Spain,  Marc  Richard  being  in  charge.  Later,  out-sta- 
tions were  established  at  Chaguanas  and  Manantao.  In  a  few 
years  nearly  live  hundred  members  were  enrolled,  and  the  enter- 
prise could  be  regarded  as  an  important  strategic  point  for  labor 
in  behalf  of  the  eighty  thousand  Coohes  of  the  island. 

In  California  the  destitute  condition  of  the  "Mission  Indians," 
former  proteges  of  the  Roman  .Catholics,  but  forsaken  for 
nearly  sixty  years,  since  the  secularization  of  the  church  by 
Mexico,  had  appealed  to  the  Women's  National  Indian  Asso- 
ciation. In  turn  these  ladies  had  applied  to  the  Moravian 
Church,  and  William  Weinland  had  been  sent  on  his  recovery 
from  the  efifects  of  the  Alaskan  climate.  Potrero,  "The  Ramona 
Mission,"  was  speedily  founded  near  Banning,  and  in  1896  Mar- 
tinez in  the  desert  was  occupied  by  David  Woosley. 

The  call  to  Queensland  came  from  the  Federal  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Australia,  the  veteran  Hagenauer 
having  made  a  tour  of  exploration.  The  Presbyterians  ofTered 
to  bear  the  cost,  if  the  Moravians  would  furnish  the  mission- 
aries for  the  cannibal  blackfellows.     James  Ward  and  his  de- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  201 

voted  wife  volunteered  to  leave  their  comfortable  parsonage  at 
Ballinderry,  and  Nicholas  Hey  accompanied  them.  They 
selected  Mapoon,  near  Cullen  Point,  within  the  north-western 
corner  of  Cape  York  Peninsula,  as  the  scene  of  operations,  and 
soon  gained  the  confidence  of  the  dangerous  savages,  through 
their  influence  moreover  securing  kind  treatment  for  a  ship- 
wrecked crew  in  place  of  barbarity.  Ward's  early  death  from 
fever,  January  3,  1895,  was  a  severe  blow.  But  his  brave  wife 
and  her  sister,  with  her  brother-in-law,  Hey,  maintained  their 
post,  and  ne.xt  year  were  rewarded  with  the  baptism  of  the  first 
converts.  In  1897  Edwin  Brown  commenced  the  establishment 
of  a  second  station,  at  Weipa,  somewhat  farther  south. 

The  Nyasa  Mission  originated  in  the  receipt  of  a  large  and 
quite  unexpected  legacy  from  a  gentleman  of  Breslau,  John 
Daniel  Crakau,  who  died  in  1887,  combined  with  an  appeal  from 
the  well-known  Alexander  Alackay  of  Uganda  conjointly  with 
Bishop  Parker  of  Equatorial  Africa,  in  1888.  Other  missionary 
leaders,  like  Dr.  Warneck,  urgently  seconded  this  call.  The 
directors  of  the  East  Africa  Colonial  Company  in  Berlin  assured 
Bishop  Buchner  of  their  readiness  to  cooperate  in  ways  within 
their  power.  Accordingly  in  the  spring  of  1890  Theodore 
Meyer,  Theophil  Richard,  George  Martin  and  John  Hiifner  set 
out  for  the  country  to  the  north  of  Lake  Nyasa,  via  the  Suez 
Canal,  Zanzibar  and  the  Shire  River.  Martin's  grave  paved 
the  way  for  the  advance,  at  Kararamuka,  and  all  suffered  from 
fever.  But  Rungwe  was  founded  among  the  Konde  people  in 
August.  Other  coadjutors  came  out.  Fever  proved  fatal  to 
three  of  these.  But  Rutenganio  and  Ipiana  were  founded  in 
1894  and  Utengule,  among  the  Safuas  and  Sangos,  in  1895. 

Small  wonder,  too,  that  with  the  steady  advance  in  the  old 
fields,  the  cost  of  the  world-wide  work  frequently  exceeded  the 
income  of  the  mission  treasury.  During  the  decade  the  annual 
cost  of  the  work  increased  by  $92,640.  Deficiencies  of  specially 
large  amounts  were  those  of  the  years  1894,  1896  and  1897,  viz., 
$26,390,  $25,334  and  $62,068.  Yet  by  the  providence  of  God 
each  was  in  its  turn  made  good,  the  last  just  before  the  con- 
vening of  the  general  synod.  That  of  1896  was  wiped  out  by  a 
single  stroke  of  the  pen  on  the  part  of  a  generous  friend  of  the 
church,  John  Thomas  Morton,  of  London,  who  had  already  on 
more  than  one  occasion  lent  liberal  aid.  At  his  death,  in  Sep- 
tember,   1897,    he   constituted    Moravian    Missions    the    bene- 


202  A   HISTORY   OF 

ficiary  of  a  large  part  of  his  residuary  estate  under  certain 
conditions.  His  trustees  were  directed  to  pay  over  the  money, 
estimated  at  several  hundred  thousand  dollars,  during  a  period 
of  ten  years,  and  the  sums  so  received  zvere  to  be  tised  solely  in  behalf 
of  out-posts  which  should  be  thereby  developed  into  fully  equipped 
statiojis.  The  money  should  not  be  employed  to  relieve  existing 
missions. 

In  connection  with  the  administration  of  the  missions  an 
important  step  was  taken  in  1894,  when  on  June  2  by  a  decree 
of  the  Saxon  government  the  rights  of  a  corporation  were 
extended  to  the  board,  under  the  title  of  "Missions-anstalt  der 
cvangclischen  Briidcr-Unitdt.'' 

Varied  features  characterized  the  special  fields  of  operation. 
As  for  Greenland,  a  sufferer  in  more  than  ordinary  degree 
through  shipwrecks,  four  vessels  carrying  supplies  being  lost  in 
1895,  1896  and  1897,  it  became  more  and  more  evident  that  with 
all  the  faithful  endeavors  of  the  missionaries  self-support  could 
not  be  achieved.  Meanwhile  work  among  actual  heathen  was 
no  longer  carried  on,  the  people  having  been  Christianized. 
Under  all  these  circumstances  plain  intimations  had  been 
received  of  the  desire  of  the  Danish  government  and  church 
that  a  transfer  of  the  Moravian  stations  to  the  latter  should  be 
effected. 

In  recognition  of  the  facts  of  the  situation  the  general  synod 
of  1899  with  practical  unanimity  agreed  to  the  transfer.  One  of 
the  most  significant  features  of  the  problem  was  that  with  one 
possible  exception  the  missionaries  now  laboring  in  Greenland 
did  not  oppose  the  measure,  but  rather  welcomed  it.  In  its 
favor  were  the  following  considerations :  First,  ^Moravian  work 
as  a  mission  is  accomplished  in  Greenland.  There  are  no  actual 
heathen,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  to  be  found  in  Greenland, 
at  least  on  the  west  coast,  which  is  alone  really  habitable.  For 
the  few  East  Greenlanders  Denmark  has  appointed  a  minister, 
Pastor  Ryttel.  The  Eskimos  are  descendants  of  Christians  for 
several  generations.  The  ultimate  aim  of  a  mission  is  the 
upbuilding  of  a  fully  organized  and  self-dependent  national 
church.  This  will  be  an  impossible  achievement  amongst  the 
proteges  of  the  Moravian  Church,  the  circumstances  and  con- 
ditions of  their  winning  a  livelihood  rendering  intellectual  labor, 
needful  for  the  training  of  native  pastors,  out  of  the  question. 
The  State  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  which  has  the  care  of 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  203 

8,000  to  10,000  Greenlanders,  many  of  whom  are  halfbreeds  and 
more  vigorous  and  intelligent  than  the  full-blooded  Eskimos,  is 
ready  and  willing  to  assume  charge  of  the  1,700  souls  at  the 
Moravian  stations.  By  the  transfer  a  native  Greenland  church 
can  be  established.  Further,  whilst  Denmark  recognizes  with 
gratitude  the  work  done  by  Moravians,  she  believes  that  they 
are  now  standing  in  her  way.  The  honorable  thing  for  the  suc- 
cessors of  those  who  went  out  primarily  as  assistants  of  Hans 
Egede,  is  to  withdraw,  now  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  Hans 
Egede's  successors  to  take  charge  of  the  entire  field,  and  now 
that  they  are  able  and  willing  so  to  do.  In  this  manner  an 
example  of  Christian  comity  will  be  set,  and  the  Protestant 
world  assured  that  Christian  comity  is  more  than  a  mere  theory. 
Furthermore,  the  Danish  Church  is  in  a  good  condition  to  care 
for  these  people.  A  better. state  of  spiritual  life  characterizes 
the  Danish  Church  now  than  in  many  periods  of  the  past.  There 
is  an  abundance  of  candidates  for  service  in  Greenland.  These 
candidates  learn  the  language  in  a  special  seminary  at  home, 
where  they  study  it  for  two  years  prior  to  their  appointment. 
When  appointed,  the  married  men  engage  to  serve  at  least  nine 
years  in  Greenland,  the  unmarried  at  least  six.  Some  remain 
for  life.  In  Greenland  they  are  assisted  by  native  catechists, 
many  of  them  half-breeds,  who  are  trained  for  the  work  and 
who  are  able  to  visit  the  scattered  population  with  ease,  being 
expert  with  the  kayak,  a  canoe  few  Europeans  ever  learn  to 
manage.  Finally  the  withdrawal  is  likely  to  redound  to  the 
temporal  benefit  of  the  people ;  for  the  conditions  of  life  seem 
to  render  it  necessary,  and  the  Danish  government  requires, 
that  they  be  removed  from  their  present  limited  environment 
and  scattered  from  the  mission  stations.  Such  a  scattering  will 
be  of  double  advantage  from  a  physical  and  temporal  stand- 
point. On  the  one  hand  it  will  render  more  easy  the  sucessful 
catch  of  fish  and  furs,  on  which  they  depend  for  a  livelihood. 
On  the  other  hand  they  may  then  be  more  free  to  marry  with 
Greenlanders  of  the  Danish  Church.  It  is  evident  that  the 
present  narrow  village  life,  with  its  isolated  conditions,  villages 
being  quite  cut  off  from  each  other,  promotes  a  degree  of  inter- 
marriage that  is  to  some  extent  a  cause  of  numerical  decrease. 
It  is  due  to  them  to  remove  every  crippling  influence  upon  their 
race  as  such. 


204  ^   HISTORY  OF 

In  Labrador  Albert  Martin  had  been  superintendent  since 
the  return  of  Bourquin  to  Germany  in  1889.  It  had  been  a 
decade  distinguished  by  severe  epidemics,  and  the  total  number 
of  Eskimos  in  care  of  the  mission  had  decreased,  whilst  the 
number  of  white  settlers  connected  with  the  church  had  so 
increased  as  to  counterbalance  this  loss.  The  abandonment  of 
Zoar,  whence  many  natives  had  removed  after  the  closing  of 
the  store  in  1889,  was  determined  by  the  mission  conference  in 
1893.  Ramah,  on  the  other  hand,  was  rebuilt,  and  during  the 
years  1896  and  1897  Makkovik  was  founded  to  the  south  of 
Hopedale,  Herman  Jannasch  dedicating  its  church  on  Christmas 
Day  of  the  latter  year.  And  preparations  were  made  to  estab- 
lish a  station  at  Rigolette  yet  farther  to  the  south. 

In  Alaska  the  membership  expanded  from  84  to  987  by  the 
end  of  the  year  1899.  Ugavigamiut  was  founded  eighty  miles 
up  the  Kuskokwim  from  Bethel;  Bethel  numbered  six  out-sta- 
tions, Ugavigamiut  two,  and  Carmel  three.  More  than  twenty 
native  helpers  rendered  efficient  assistance.  But  sad  experi- 
ences caused  sorrow  throughout  the  church.  To  the  dismissal 
of  three  missionaries  was  added  the  loss  by  drowning  of  Ernest 
Weber  and  his  wife  and  child  in  Kuskokwim  Bay  on  one  of  the 
last  days  in  June,  1898,  when  returning  from  furlough,  their 
small  steamer  foundering  with  all  on  board.  Upon  Herman 
Romig,  medical  missionary  at  Bethel,  devolved  the  burden  of 
leadership  on  the  Kuskokwim,  a  burden  rendered  the  heavier 
by  the  failure  of  the  vessel  with  supplies  to  make  a  landing  in 
the  summer  of  1899. 

In  1896  the  Mission  Board  transferred  to  the  Home  Mission 
Board  of  the  American  Province,  North,  the  care  of  the  work 
amongst  the  Cherokces  in  Indian  Territory,  long  languishing. 
As  a  consequence  of  national  legislation,  which  cut  down  the 
mission  farms  upon  whose  produce  the  missionaries  had  been 
largely  dependent,  to  the  paltry  size  of  four  acres  in  each  case, 
this  branch  of  activity  came  to  an  end  in  the  spring  of  1899. 
Meanwhile  the  new  work  in  California  compensated  in  some 
measure  for  this  loss. 

In  the  West  Indies  the  constant  movement  of  the  population, 
intensified  by  the  stagnation  of  the  sugar  industry,  together 
with  the  impoverishment  of  the  masses  had  rendered  the  effort 
to  attain  self-support  impossible,  though  loyal  eflfort  had  been 
strenuously  put  forth  and  heavy  sacrifices  made.     In  1897  the 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  20$ 

superintendents  of  the  eastern  islands  met  in  conference,  and 
after  thorougli  discussion  agreed  to  a  general  retluction  in  the 
salaries  of  missionaries,  already  none  too  high.  However,  num- 
bers indicated  a  slight  advance — of  one  station  and  three  out- 
stations  in  the  Eastern  Province,  and  of  six  stations  or  out- 
stations  and  four  preaching-places  in  Jamaica,  whilst  the  mem- 
bership in  each  Province  was  marked  by  a  net  gain  of  rather 
more  than  one  thousand  in  ten  years.  Trinidad  was  a  new  and 
hopeful  field,  rapidly  developing  under  Marc  Richard.  Since 
1897  Edwin  C.  Greider  had  been  President  of  the  Eastern  and 
Frank  P.  Wilde  of  the  Western  board. 

Here  the  synod  of  1899  attempted  to  solve  the  problem  by 
granting  to  these  Provinces  practical  independence  with  certain 
restrictions.  A  fixed  annual  grant,  normally  of  $3,500,  shall  be 
allowed  to  each  Province  for  ten  years,  and  certain  specific 
donations  were  voted.  The  cost  of  maintaining  one  theological 
seminary  on  the  islands,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Mission 
Board,  shall  be  a  charge  of  the  general  mission  treasury.  Mis- 
sion P>oard  will  continue  to  bear  the  expenses,  as  hitherto,  for 
foreign  brethren  now  in  service,  i.  c,  pension,  etc.  For  foreign 
missionaries  appointed  after  December,  1899,  Mission  Board 
will  undertake  half  of  the  expenses  connected  with  outfit,  pen- 
sion, education  of  children,  etc. ;  the  other  half  must  be  borne 
by  the  Province, 

Synod  furthermore  bore  in  mind  the  possibility  of  extraordi- 
nary emergencies,  arising  from  the  effects  of  convulsions  of 
nature.  In  the  event  of  such  misfortunes,  special  appeals  will 
be  allowed. 

For  the  Moskilo  Mission  the  year  1894  was  critical  in  the 
extreme.  Thgn  the  nominal  suzerainty  of  Nicaragua  developed 
into  complete  ownership,  the  Reserve  being  wholly  incorpo- 
rated into  the  Republic.  Business  being  unsettled,  and  various 
regulations  altered,  the  expense  of  maintaining  the  undertak- 
ings of  the  church  was  heavily  increased.  Yet  with  all  the 
anxiety,  and  in  .spite  of  many  changes  in  personnel  occasioned 
by  the  climate,  there  was  a  steady  advance,  the  number  of  sta- 
tions and  outposts  being  increased  by  five,  and  the  membership 
by  nearly  two  thousand.  Here  after  many  years  of  faithful 
labor,  Augustus  Martin  resigned  his  office  of  superintendent, 
to  be  fofTovNccTFy  Augustus  Erdmann,  who  was  called  higher 
within  a  year.     In  turn  William  Sieborger,  whose  translation 


■■'■j^ 


206  A   HISTORY    OF 

of  the  Gospels  and  Acts  was  published  by  the  Herrnhut  Bible 
Society  in  1890,  assumed  the  reins. 

Dcmcrara  suffered  a  hea\y  loss  in  the  death  of  the  founder 
of  the  work  at  Graham's  Hall.  Henr\-  Moore,  in  Xovember, 
1896.  John  Ding^sall,  teacher  in  the  high-school  at  Bluefields, 
became  his  successor.  The  abandonment  of  the  Bel  Air  estates, 
o\A-ing  to  the  fact  that  the  maintenance  of  the  dikes  more  than 
absorbed  the  profits  from  the  sugar,  led  to  a  removal  from  Gra- 
ham's Hall  to  Cumming's  Lodge  prior  to  the  death  of  Moore. 
A  new  beginning  was  also  made  in  Georgetown,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  evangelize  Coolies  and  Chinese  who  were  pressing 
into  the  colony.  As  in  the  case  of  the  West  Indian  field,  the 
fluctuation  of  the  people,  and  especially  the  removal  of  many 
to  gold  diggings  along  the  Demerara  River  militated  against 
large  increase  in  numbers. 

Surinam,  where  Frederick  Stahelin  succeeded  Jonathan  Kers- 
ten  as  superintendent  in  1894,  continued  to  be  characterized 
by  growth,  a  net  gain  of  more  than  three  thousand,  and  of  five 
stations  in  ten  years.  Specially  significant  was  the  spread  of 
the  work  amongst  the  Bush  Negroes  of  the  interior,  though  the 
self-sacrifice  of  Kersten  at  Albina  demonstrated  once  more  the 
impossibilit}-  of  a  white  man's  permanently  enduring  the  climate. 
In  1891  the  appointment  of  the  first  Chinese  ''helper,"  Lazarus 
Fu  Ahing,  gave  promise  of  happy  labor  amongst  the  immigrant 
Asiatic  heathen,  and  yet  higher  hopes  were  raised  by  the  fidelity 
of  another  Coolie  convert  and  evangelist,  Abraham  Lincoln  by 
name.  A  further  development  of  usefulness  was  the  appoint- 
ing of  a  missionar}-  and  two  deaconesses,  in  1897,  to  minister 
to  the  Protestants  among  the  inmates  of  the  leper  hospital  at 
Groot  Chatillon. 

South  Africa,  West,  where  the  founding  of  Etembeni  and 
Elinde,  near  Enon,  reminded  that  the  day  for  labor  amongst 
pagans  was  not  over,  though  for  the  most  part  the  work  had 
to  be  restricted  to  the  ''settlements,"  rejoiced  in  a  gain  of 
rather  more  than  one  thousand  members  in  ten  years,  the  total 
rising  from  7871  to  9181.  Moreover  the  steady  advance 
towards  self-support  and  self-discipline  was  most  gratifying. 
The  increasing  tendency  of  the  young  people  to  seek  employ- 
ment in  the  towns  occasioned  a  repetition  in  Port  Elizabeth  of 
the  procedure  attended  with  such  good  results  in  Cape  Town, 
and  the  ministrations  first  of  a  native  brother  and  then  of 


II 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  20/ 

Rudolph  Scliniitt  prepared  for  Ihc  establishment  of  a  congre- 
gation in  this  busy  port.  William  Bauer  dying  in  August,  1892, 
Paul  Hennig  had  been  charged  with  the  leadership  in  the 
Province. 

Similarly  in  the  Eastern  Province,  where  Ernest  van  Calker 
had  succeeded  Otto  Padel,  there  was  marked  growth,  peace  had 
blessed  the  land  and  missionary  labor  could  be  uninterruptedly 
pursued.  As  a  result  of  the  visit  of  Bishop  Buchner  in  1892- 
1893,  Tabase,  Elokolweni  and  Mvenyane  were  raised  to  the  rank 
of  stations,  and  a  number  of  out-stations  were  commenced.  The 
membership  rose  from  3671  to  5314.  Thanks  to  the  liberality  of 
Mr.  Morton  in  1896,  a  training  school  for  native  teachers  and 
ministers  was  founded  at  Mvenyane. 

The  Himalayan  field,  distinguished  for  many  years  for  almost 
fruitless  toil,  and  during  this  decade  characterized  by  severe 
sickness  and  death  amongst  the  staff  of  missionaries,  limited 
towards  the  west  by  agreements  with  other  societies  and  to  the 
east  by  the  impenetrable  boundaries  of  Tibet  proper,  gave  out  a 
gleam  of  hope.  Poo  especially  showing  signs  of  life.  The  native 
evangelists  Paulu  and  Ga  Puntzog,  boldly  itinerated  amongst 
their  countrymen.  New  outposts  were  established  at  Chot  and 
Gui,  near  Kyclang.  and  at  Scheh,  near  Leh. 

The  number  of  inmates  of  the  Home  for  Lcf^ers  in  Jerusalem 
steadily  increased,  forty-three  at  the  close  of  the  year  1899, 
twenty-nine  males  and  fourteen  females,  thirteen  being  Chris- 
tians and  thirty  Mohammedans.  In  1891,  Miiller  and  his  wife 
were  succeeded  in  the  management  of  the  institution  by  Charles 
and  Anna  Schubert.  Three  deaconesses,  trained  in  the  Deacon- 
esses' Institute  of  the  Moravian  Church  at  Niesky,  in  Silesia, 
assisted.  Native  laborers  were  employed  in  the  garden  and  for 
all  varieties  of  out-door  labor,  the  lepers  themselves  being  able 
to  do  only  the  lighter  forms  of  work.  Within  the  decade  a 
number  of  improvements  were  added  to  the  building,  and  one 
result  of  the  visit  of  William  L.  Kolbing,  in  the  train  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany  when  his  majesty  was  present  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer  in  Jerusalem,  was  the  enlist- 
ing of  the  sympathy  of  a  wider  public.  Though  a  Building  and 
a  Pension  Fund  exist,  the  annual  costs  must  still  be  met  by  the 
stated  gifts  of  members  and  friends  of  the  church. 

During  the  year  1899  the  cost  of  supporting  this  worthy 
charity  amounted  to  $6,122,  and  the  accounts  closed  with  a  de- 


208  A   HISTORY   OF 

ficit  of  $981.  Thus  like  the  entire  evangeHstic  activity  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  it  remains  a  work  of  faith.  But  like  the 
world-wide  enterprise  of  Moravian  Alissions,  it  also  serves  as 
a  bond  uniting  the  several  provinces  of  the  Brethren's  Unity, 
and  afifords  a  channel  for  the  benevolence  of  members  in  the 
mission-congregations.  In  1899  both  divisions  of  the  West 
Indian  field,  Surinam  and  Bohemia,  in  addition  to  the  four  home 
provinces,  were  represented  amongst  its  supporters.  In  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  Britain,  Holland  and  in  the  United  States 
there  are  those  beyond  the  immediate  membership  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  who  count  it  a  privilege  to  statedly  aid  by 
their  gifts. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1899  the  statistics  of  the  missions 
were  as  follows : 

Income  from  Home  Sources, $142,533.62 

"     Foreign      "  ....  128,100.00 

Total  Cost,         ........         416,007.50 

Ordained  Missionaries, 166 

Physicians  (already  included), (2) 

Lay  Missionaries  (unordained), 23 

Married  Women 180 

Unmarried  Women 21 

Total  Missionaries, 390 

Ordained  Natives,  . 18 

Other  Native  Helpers — Men 1089 

"  "  "  Women 756 

Total  Native  Workers 1863 

Principal  Stations, 146 

Sub-Stations 68 

Organized  Churches 214 

Communicants, 34.054 

Sabbath-schools,  126 

Membership  of  Sabbath-schools 18,091 

Total  Contributions  of  Native  Members,      .         .         .         $129,100 
Total  Membership, 96,380 


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WEST  INDIA  ISLANDS 
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MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  2O9 


CHAPTER  XX. 


THE   AIM   AND    METHODS   OF    MORAVIAN    .MISSIONS. 

In  the  records  of  the  early  missionaries  of  the  Moravian 
Church  a  characteristic  phrase,  recurring  with  significant  fre- 
quency, aptly  sets  forth  their  distinctive  purpose — the  aim  of 
Moravian  missions  from  the  first,  viz.,  "to  win  souls  for  the 
Lamb."  Thereby  all  m6re  ecclesiasticizing  is  excluded,  the 
wholesale  herding  of  savages  into  the  Christian  fold  at  the 
command  of  a  chieftain.  But  it  equally  declines  to  endorse  the 
ultra-Protestant  notion,  that  all  has  been  done  which  is  re- 
quired, when  the  message  of  salvation  has  been  delivered  within 
the  hearing  of  a  people.  It  involves  far  more  than  philan- 
thropic and  humanitarian  impartation  of  culture,  the  European- 
izing  or  Americanizing  of  races:  national  customs,  national 
notions  of  social  order,  national  festivals  and  dress  are  not  to 
be  interfered  with,  if  they  arc  free  from  idolatry,  superstition 
and  vice.  Nor  is  the  aim  to  denominationalizc.  This  was 
clearly  demonstrated  in  the  instructions  framed  for  the  mission- 
aries by  Count  Zinzendorf  in  1738.  In  them  he  deprecated  an^, 
attempt  to  instil  formal  tenets  of  systematic  theology.  Christ, 
the  one  sacrifice  and  a  complete  saviour,  was  to  be  appre- 
hended by  converts  as  their  perscTnal  saviour.  Discussions  of 
a  purely  scientific  character,  for  example  the  problem  of  the 
origin  of  sin,  should  be  avoided.  Sectarian  diflFerences,  rooted 
in  the  historic  events  of  Christendom,  should  not  be  perpetu- 
ated. The  very  regulations  which  had  proved  valuable  for  the 
civico-rcligious  life  of  Herrnhut,  it  might  be  unwise  to  dupli- 
cate in  the  congregations  won  from  heathenism. 

Efforts  were  from  the  first  directed  primarily  to  the  moral 
and  spiritual  in  man,  since  everywhere  the  law  of  conscience 
exists,  everywhere  the  will  of  man  is  the  responsible  subject  of 
that  law.  and  everywhere  men  have  some  idea  of  God  to  whom 
their  will  is  responsible.  But  with  the  purpose  of  winning  souls 
for  the  Lamb  it  was  and  has  been  ever  since  realized  that  a 
»5 


/ 


I 


2IO  A   HISTORY    OF 

(very  wide  aim  is  conjoined.  Religion  is  not  something  super- 
added to  life  or  artificially  interjected  into  ordinary  occupa- 
tions. It  does  not  occupy  a  sphere  distinct  from  the  secular. 
'  It  interpenetrates  and  dominates  all  conscious  activity.  Hence 
/  heart-conversions  display  their  effects  in  every  relationship  of 
life.  If  effected  in  sufficient  number,  an  entire  race  will  be 
,wholly  transformed.  Family  life  is  created,  the  home  arises, 
industry  emerges,  civilization  progresses,  and  the  faith  possess- 
ing power  of  self  propagation,  responsibility  for  spread  of  the 
rule  of  Christ  is  avowedly  accepted.  Therefore  contempora- 
neous with  the  effecting  of  heart-conversions,  the  organization 
!and  development  of  native  congregations,  self-dependent  alike 
in  financial  support,  in  the  dispensation  of  the  word  and  the 
sacraments,  in  the  administration  of  discipline  and  in  effective 
prosecution  of  a  policy  of  organized  extension  and  of  self-mul- 
tiplication, has  long  been  enunciated  as  the  aim  of  missionary 
endeavor  on  the  part  of  the  Moravian  Church.  But  in  seeking 
to  attain  this  aim,  it  has  consistently  guarded  against  effecting 
a  merely  nominal  profession  of  Christianity  on  the  part  of  large 
numbers.  On  the  contrary,  special  attention  has  been  paid  to 
individuals,  that  converts  may  really  be  "turned  from  darkness 
unto  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God."  A  regen- 
erated membership  is  primarily  striven  for,  as  a  means  whereby 
the  national  life  in  heathen  lands  may  eventually  be  brought 
wholly  under  the  sanctifying  influence  of  Christianity. 

This  apprehension  of  the  aim  of  missions  has  carried  with 
/  it  a  corresponding  breadth  of  view  in  relation  to  the  methods 
of  missionary  work.  Preaching  in  public  and  in  private,  herald- 
ing and  the  dispensation  of  the  sacraments  are  held  to  be 
primary  work,  with  well-organized  stations  as  centers  of  itin- 
eracy. A  translated  Bible  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
A  Christian  Hterature  is  created  and  scattered.  The  value  of 
education  is  justly  appreciated.  Eleemosynary  adjuncts,  the 
services  of  the  medical  missionary,  the  hospital,  the  dispensary 
and  the  orphanage,  and  the  home  for  incurables  are  em- 
ployed. Since  the  silent  forces  of  example  and  of  character 
ever  prove  influential,  Christian  artisans  demonstrate  to 
heathen  and  new  converts  the  dignity  of  industry,  the  blessings 
of  a  consistent  life  and  the  sweetness  of  a  Christian  home. 

But  all  these  agencies  are  supplemented  by  a  most  scrupu- 
lous attention  to  the  care  of  individual  souls.     Prior  to  bap- 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  211 

tism  or  confirmation  preliminary  instruction  is  given  with  a 
^'iew  not  merely  to  inform  the  intellect,  but  to  influence  the 
heart.  A  regular  round  of  pastoral  labor  is  prosecuted  as  in 
congregations  in  the  home  lands,  and  in  addition  a  system  of 
close  religious  conversation  with  individual  converts  is  also 
statedly  maintained.  As  a  rule  such  conversations  take  place 
frequently  with  each  adult,  so  that  every  male  member  of  the 
mission-congregation  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the  mission- 
ary several  times  each  year,  and  every  female  with  the  mis- 
sionary's wife.  Those  who  avoid  these  interviews  are  looked 
after  by  the  missionary  and  his  assistants.  Moreover,  the 
spirit  of  fellowship  is  fostered  by  means  of  associations  of  old 
and  young  in  every  w^ay  that  is  practicable.  Bible-study,  the 
prayer-meeting,  temperance  leagues,  societies  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  Bible  societies,  missionary  associations  and  the  like, 
and  fraternal  organizations  of  a  Christian  type  are  encouraged. 

At  each  station,  for  the  systematic  oversight  of  individuals, 
the  converts  are  arranged  in  five  classes,  each  of  which  has 
special  services  of  its  own:  i.  Nciv  People,  such  heathen  as 
apply  for  general  Christian  instruction ;  2.  Candidates  for  Bap- 
tism, such  as  have  applied  for  Baptism  and  are  under  instruc- 
tion preparatory  to  this  sacrament ;  3.  Baptized  Children,  the 
children  of  members  of  the  church  under  sixteen  years  of  age 
prior  to  their  confirmation ;  4.  Baptized  Adults,  all  above  six- 
teen years  of  age  who  have  been  baptized  but  not  yet  con- 
firmed ;  5.  Conimunieants,  all  who  have  been  confirmed  or  bap- 
tized as  adults. 

The  congregations,  through  their  elders,  cooperate  with  the 
missionarv  in  the  administration  of  discipline  in  tiie  narrower 
sense,  consisting  according  to  circumstances  of  the  word  of 
brotherly  yet  formal  admonition,  or  of  temporary  exclusion 
from  participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  of  temporary  sus- 
pension from  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  membership.  Even 
those  who  have  been  placed  under  the  final  degree  of  discipline 
are  not  thereby  at  once  cut  off  from  the  ministrations  and  care 
of  the  church.  They  are  particularly  looked  after  by  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  assistants,  and  are  readmitted  when  suffi- 
cient evidence  of  penitence  and  a  desire  to  lead  a  consistent  life 
has  been  manifested.  But  if  they  persistently  continue  in  sin, 
their  names  are  finally  stricken  from  the  register. 

Development  of  native-agencv_is  considered  of  highest  im- 


212  A   HISTORY    OF 

portancCj  though  the  characteristics  of  certain  races  and  the 
orcumstances  of  certain  fields  have  necessitated  extreme  cau- 
tion in  proceeding  to  apply  the  accepted  principles  of  mis- 
sionary polity.  No  scheme  has  been  found  universally  and 
invariably  applicable,  yet  the  general  lines  of  procedure  present 
an  affinity  in  all  the  mission  provinces.  Everywhere  in  the 
selection  of  assistants  regard  is  had  for  the  respect  they  enjoy 
in  the  church  on  account  of  their  approved  fidelity  in  Christian 
life,  everywhere  well  ordered  matrimonial  relations  are  a  sine 
qua  non,  and  it  is  required  that  they  set  an  example  in  the  ful- 
filment of  duties  involved  in  church  membership,  such  as  the 
stated  payment  of  dues,  etc.  The  several  grades  of  assistants 
are  known  as  "Helpers,"  "Lay  Readers"  and  "Assistant  Mis- 
sionaries," the  last  especially  supplying  a  source  from  which 
"Native  Ministers"  are  recruited.  The  term  "Helper"  has 
been  adopted  from  St.  Paul's  designation  of  Priscilla  and 
Aquila  in  Romans  16:3,  9.  Appointed  by  the  missionaries,  as 
a  rule  in  conference  assembled,  the  "Helpers"  receive  no  com- 
pensation, unless  assigned  to  specific  work  which  takes  them 
from  home  and  temporarily  deprives  them  of  their  means  of 
livelihood.  Often  they  are  assigned  to  districts,  within  which 
they  visit  converts  from  house  to  house  and  acquaint  them- 
selves with  their  spiritual  progress,  call  upon  the  sick  and 
report  them  to  the  missionaries,  labor  amongst  the  heathen 
and  bring  individual  cases  of  interest  to  the  notice  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, exhort  those  converts  who  appear  to  be  lapsing  and 
draw  the  attention  of  the  missionaries  to  them,  settle  differ- 
ences amongst  the  people  and  when  necessary  call  in  the  aid 
of  the  missionaries,  promote  zeal  for  the  education  of  their 
children  on  the  part  of  parents,  go  after  the  erring  and  keep  a 
watchful  eye  upon  and  extend  a  sympathetic  hand  of  help  to 
those  under  discipline.  At  stated  times  the  "Helpers"  meet 
with  the  missionaries  and  bring  in  their  reports.  Female 
"Helpers"  labor  among  those  of  their  own  sex.  "Lay  Readers" 
are  native  assistants  of  superior  qualifications,  licensed  by  a 
"Mission  Conference"  as  Bible-readers  and  leaders  of  cottage 
meetings.  They  devote  one  or  two  days  each  week  to  this 
work,  and  sometimes  receive  a  small  compensation.  "Assistant 
Missionaries"  as  well  as  "Native  Ministers"  receive  appoint- 
ment from  the  Mission  Board,  and  stand  on  the  same  general 
footing  with  the  foreign  agents,  save  that  they  have  no  claim 


THE    MORAVIAN    CHURCH.  213 

upon  Mission  Board  for  the  education  of  their  children,  or  for 
pensions  and  furloughs. 

As  a  means  toward  the  independence,  self-support  and  self- 
management  of  congregations  won  from  heathenism,  respon- 
sible and  representative  members  are  chosen  by  the  council 
of  each  congregation  to  assist  in  the  management  of  its  spir- 
itual and  temporal  affairs,  and  to  see  to  it  that  the  necessary 
money  be  raised  for  prosecuting  the  local  work,  for  repairs  of 
buildings,  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  etc.,  the  actual  adminis- 
tration of  the  fund  for  the  poor  being  in  the  hands  of  the 
"Helpers."  Normally  two  boards  exist  in  each  congregation, 
the  one  controlling  the  expenditure  of  all  moneys  raised  by  its 
membership  and  participating  in  the  management  of  its  exter- 
nal affairs,  and  the  other  constituting  a  body  of  advisers  with 
whom  the  missionary  consults  in  reference  to  the  cure  and  care 
of  souls  and  in  particular  in  reference  to  the  administration  ot 
discipline. 

Amongst  the  agencies  employed  in  seeking  to  attain  the  aim 
of  missions,  the  education  of  the  young  holds  a  foremost  place. 
Experience  has  taught  that  those  members  of  mission-congre- 
gations who  were  baptized  as  infants  and  who  were  instructed 
in  the  schools  from  earliest  childhood  are  far  in  advance  of 
those  who  abandoned  heathen  faith  and  practices  as  adults  and 
received  instruction  and  baptism  in  mature  years.  At^eacli 
station,  and  as  often  as  possible  at  outposts,  there  is  as  a  rule 
a  graded  school,  generally  two,  the  sexes  being  taught  apart. 
The  missionary  exercises  control,  but  native  teachers  are  em- 
ployed wherever  practicable.  With  exception  of  the  primary 
department,  the  classes  receive  instruction  in  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic,  geography,  Bible  history,  singing,  and  in  some 
instances  in  grammar.  Mission  Board  gives  aid  toward  founding 
the  schools  and  guarantees  their  continuance  for  ten  years. 
Thereafter  the  congregations  must  undertake  the  financial 
responsibility,  meeting  expenses  either  by  school  fees  alone  or 
by  fees  supplemented  by  collections.  Sometimes  these  schools 
receive  a  measure  of  governmental  aid,  being  then  subject  to 
inspection.  At  various  times  Moravian  mission  schools  in 
Jamaica,  in  other  West  Indian  islands  and  in  Australia  have 
attained  very  high  standing  in  government  examinations.  In 
addition  to  the  station  schools,  normal  schools  are  maintained 
in  a   number   of  mission   provinces,   in   order  to   train   native 


214  A    HISTORY   OF 

teachers.  In  the  Western  division  of  the  South  African  field 
and  in  Surinam  and  in  the  Himalayan  mission,  theological 
studies  are  pursued  by  the  senior  students,  as  a  preparation 
for  ministerial  service.  The  West  Indian  field  and  the  mission 
in  KafTraria  are  equipped  with  theological  seminaries.  Until 
that  stage  of  development  is  reached  vi^hereby  the  rights  and 
prerogatives  of  an  independent  province  of  the  Brethren's 
Unity  are  acquired,  these  higher  schools  and  seminaries  are 
under  final  control  of  the  Mission  Board,  though  the  provincial 
authorities  of  the  respective  mission  fields  exercise  immediate 
supervision.  Unfortunately  racial  peculiarities  present  special 
obstacles  in  connection  with  the  securing  of  a  native  clergy — 
an  indispensable  condition  of  independence.  Experience  of 
years  has  shown  that  in  Labrador  and  amongst  the  Indian 
tribes  in  care  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  North  and  Central 
America,  the  prospect  is  not  bright  in  this  respect.  Nor  is 
there  likelihood  of  training  natives  of  Australia,  though  min- 
isters might  be  obtained  from  the  South  Sea  Islands.  In 
the  West  Indies  a  measure  of  success  has  been  reached.  There 
is  no  reason  why  in  the  end  this  should  not  also  hold  good  of 
Surinam,  though  the  difificulties  there  are  far  greater  on  account 
of  the  lower  intellectual  and  educational  status  of  the  ex-slaves 
and  their  descendants.  In  South  Africa  the  Kaffirs  in  par- 
ticular possess  the  needed  talents,  and  the  normal  school  at 
Genadendal  has  already  sent  forth  an  able  set  of  teachers,  who 
would  form  the  natural  source  of  supply.  The  people  of  the 
Western  Himalayas  are  capable  of  a  degree  of  education,  and 
here  also  the  work  of  some  of  the  assistants  holds  out  hope  for 
the  future.  Everywhere,  however,  peculiar  difificulties  stand  in 
the  way,  since  the  native  minister  and  his  family  must  raise 
themselves  above  the  mental  and  moral  status  of  their  people, 
and  must  prove  superior  to  their  environment  of  superstition, 
looseness  of  morals,  etc.  Even  where  the  requisite  moral  and 
educational  endowment  can  be  found,  less  frequently  are 
precision,  system  and  orderly  regularity  of  method  at  hand, 
qualities  so  essential  for  the  administrative  functions  of  the 
pastorate.  These  are  the  gift  of  heredity  perpetuated  through 
generations  that  have  enjoyed  happier  conditions  of  life. 
Patience  on  the  part  of  the  home  church  is  therefore  a  condi- 
tion of  achieving  the  complete  development  of  the  native  Chris- 
tian church. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  21$ 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE    ADMINISTRATIVE    POLITY    OF    MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 

"Mission  stations"  constitute  the  centers  of  operation  in 
each  land  where  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  is  under- 
taken by  the  Moravian  Church.  A  station  normally  comprises 
a  church,  a  school  or  schools  and  a  dwelling  or  dwellings  for 
the  missionaries,  since  several  couples  may  cooperate  at  the 
same  post  by  means  of  a  sub-division  and  systematization  of 
duties.  In  many  instances  this  group  of  buildings  is  surrounded 
by  the  homes  of  converts,  the  village  being  situated  on  a  some- 
what extensive  tract  of  land  acquired  by  purchase  or  grant. 
Where  this  is  the  case  the  converts  participate  in  the  commu- 
nal government  to  a  degree  varying  with  the  stage  of  develop- 
ment attained.  Where  there  are  several  missionaries  at  one 
station,  one  of  their  number  is  appointed  responsible  head. 
From  him  reports  are  expected  at  least  quarter-yearly  in  fre- 
quency, and  he  presides  at  conferences  of  his  colleagues.  All 
business  of  importance  is  decided  conjointly,  the  "Slalion-supcr- 
intendent"  having  executive  powers.  Unless  another  mission- 
ary be  specially  commissioned  as  treasurer  or  steward,  it  further 
lies  within  the  province  of  the  "Station-superintendent"  to  man- 
age all  money  matters  and  render  account  for  all  receipts  and 
disbursements.  He  also  in  the  last  resort  assigns  duties  in  the 
arrangement  and  distribution  of  work  and  oversees  local  activi- 
ties. 

Drawn  from  any  of  the  four  provinces  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  -in  Britain  and  Ireland, 
and  in  the  United  States,  the  missionaries  receive  their  call 
directly  from  the  Mission  Board  with  the  exception  of  those 
laboring  in  Alaska  and  amongst  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  who  by  consent  of  the  Mission  Board  receive  it 
through  the  medium  of  the  executive  board  of  the  American 
Province.  North — ultimately  also  from  the  central  authorities 


2l6  A    HISTORY    OF 

in  Germany.  The  wives  of  missionaries  in  most  fields  partici- 
pate actively  in  the  v^ork,  and  are  especially  charged  v^ith  duties 
in  relation  to  the  female  members  of  mission-congregations: 
hence  they  are  reckoned  amongst  the  laborers  and  receive  a 
formal  call  to  the  service. 

In  the  selection  of  candidates  for  mission  service  the  Board 
takes  into  consideration  their  physical  as  well  as  mental,  spir- 
itual and  temperamental  qualifications.  Endowments  that  fit 
men  and  women  to  endure  the  moral,  spiritual,  mental  and 
physical  strain  of  missionary  work  are  regarded  as  prerequi- 
sites. Medical  certificates  of  sound  powers  of  body  are  required 
not  only  in  the  case  of  the  man,  but  also  in  that  of  the  prospec- 
tive missionary's  wife.  Training  for  mission  service  is  imparted 
in  the  Mission  Institute  at  Niesky  in  Germany  or  in  the  various 
theological  seminaries  of  the  Moravian  Church,  and  men  are 
sometimes  called  from  positions  in  European  or  American  con- 
gregations. Besides  the  Board  may  appoint  men  who  have 
not  received  special  preparatory  training,  if  in  other  re- 
spects qualified  for  the  work.  Assignment  to  a  definite  sphere 
of  activity  within  a  mission  field  does  not  in  every  instance  pro- 
ceed from  the  Board.  This  depends  upon  the  degree  of  pro- 
gress attained  by  the  mission  in  question,  the  largest  practicable 
measure  of  home  rule  being  a  principle  of  misison  administra- 
tion. All  appointments  are,  however,  subject  to  the  veto  of 
the  Mission  Board. 

In  a  majority  of  fields  conferences,  constituted  of  all  the  mis- 
sionaries, meet  at  stated  intervals  to  consider  and  discuss  the 
necessities  of  the  mission,  to  devise  measures  for  the  further- 
ance of  the  work  and  to  mutually  encourage  one  another, 
measures  of  importance  and  new  departures  requiring  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Board.  The  constitution  of  the  several  mission 
provinces  differs  in  acordance  with  the  characteristics  of  the 
field  in  question  and  the  stage  of  development.  In  the  earlier 
years  the  "Superintendent"  of  the  province  is  charged  with 
executive  functions  and  possesses  very  large  powers.  He  pre- 
sides at  conferences  of  the  missionaries,  conducts  the  official 
correspondence  with  the  Board,  must  keep  himself  informed 
with  regard  to  each  station  and  the  work  of  each  missionary 
in  the  province,  is  responsible  for  the  general  oversight  of  the 
work,  has  an  eye  to  the  opportunities  for  advance,  is  empowered 
to  require  an  adherence  to  the  general  principles  according  to 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  21/ 

which  the  mission  is  carried  on,  and  represents  the  entire  field 
in  negotiations  with  other  religious  bodies,  with  civil  authori- 
ties or  native  chiefs.  With  the  "Superintendent"  is  usually 
associated  a  "Warden"  charged  with  the  financial  oversight. 
Often  the  germs  of  conferential  administration  inherent  in  the 
association  of  "Superintendent"  and  "Warden"  have  developed 
into  the  organization  of  a  "Provincial  Conference,"  constituted 
of  the  "Superintendent"  and  "Warden" — both  appointed  by  the 
Mission  Board — together  with  other  missionaries  elected  by 
the  "General  Mission  Conference"  of  the  province,  their  number 
being  fixed  by  the  Mission  Board  in  agreement  with  each  prov- 
ince. The  term  of  office  is  usually  five  years.  Like  the  "War- 
den" the  members  of  this  executive  board  in  the  field  as  a  rule 
are  charged  with  the  service  of  a  station  or  with  other  forms 
of  active  missionary  labor.  The  "Provincial  Conference"  meets 
to  transact  business  at  least  once  a  month.  It  assigns  to 
specific  work  the  men  and  women  sent  out  by  the  Mission 
Board,  makes  the  necessary  moves  amongst  the  missionaries 
within  the  field,  serves  as  executive  of  the  "General  Missionary 
Conference,"  has  the  oversight  of  routine  afTairs,  including  mat- 
ters of  finance,  within  the  annual  budget,  regulates  discipline 
and  supervises  the  educational  system  of  the  mission  province. 
Minutes  of  its  transactions  are  submitted  to  the  Mission  Board, 
which  reserves  the  right  of  veto,  and  in  particular  the  powers  of 
calling  to  mission  service,  the  dismissal  of  missionaries,  the 
granting  of  furloughs  and  permission  to  retire  on  pension,  the 
decision  with  regard  to  founding  or  abandoning  stations,  and 
the  dealing  with  cases  where  the  year's  estimates  have  been 
exceeded. 

The  West  Indian  Mission  occupies  at  present  a  position  inter- 
mediate between  that  of  a  mission-field  and  that  of  a  self-sup- 
porting and  self-dependent  province  of  the  Moravian  Church. 
Local  circumstances  as  well  as  the  distance  involved  have 
required  the  separation  of  the  work  for  administrative  pur- 
poses, Jamaica  constituting  one  province  and  the  other  islands 
where  Moravian  missions  are  established  being  grouped  as  a 
second.  Unfortunate  economic  conditions  render  it  impossible 
for  either  province  as  yet  to  dispense  with  aid,  notwithstanding 
loyal  and  strenuous  efforts  at  self-support.  An  annual  grant 
of  $3,500  is  received  from  the  Mission  Board  in  each  case,  with 
a  maximum  of  possible  increase  up  to  $5,000  in  case  of  extra- 


2l8  A    HISTORY    OF 

ordinary  needs.  The  expenses  of  one  theological  seminary,  on 
the  island  of  Antigua,  are  also  guaranteed  by  the  central 
authorities,  and  an  annual  grant  is  made  towards  defraying  the 
cost  of  educating  teachers  for  the  mission  schools.  The  fur- 
loughs and  pensions  and  return  journeys  of  missionaries  who 
went  to  the  West  Indies  prior  to  1900  are  also  a  charge  upon 
the  general  treasury,  as  is  the  education  of  their  children;  but 
half  of  the  amount  involved  in  these  accounts  for  missionaries 
appointed  thereafter  will  be  assumed  by  the  West  Indian 
churches,  and  the  Mission  Board  is  wholly  relieved  of  respon- 
sibility for  current  expenses.  The  latter,  including  the  salaries 
of  all  missionaries  as  well  as  of  native  ministers,  must  be  met 
by  the  contributions  of  members  on  the  islands.  Overagainst 
this  the  West  Indian  Provinces  enjoy  home  rule,  according  to 
the  terms  of  a  constitution  modeled  in  the  main  after  that  of 
the  independent  provinces  of  the  Moravian  Church,  save  that 
the  Mission  Board  reserves  the  right  to  scrutinize  resolutions 
of  synods  and  the  minutes  of  the  provincial  executives  together 
with  the  annual  statement  of  accounts,  and  a  power  of  veto  or 
suspension  of  resolutions  until  the  convocation  of  a  general 
synod  of  the  Moravian  Church.  Both  West  Indian  provinces 
enjoy  partial  representation  in  the  general  synod  during  the 
period  of  transition. 

The  Mission  Province  of  South  Africa,  West,  is  also 
approaching  self-support.  Here  the  advance  is  such  both  in 
the  degree  of  internal  organization  attained  and  in  the  stated 
liberality  and  in  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  mis- 
sion, that  the  general  synod  has  directed  the  Mission  Board 
to  make  appropriations  for  its  current  expenses  only  in  case  of 
extraordinary  need,  though  the  existing  rules  in  regard  to  fur- 
loughs and  journeys  of  the  missionaries  remain  in  force.  Mean- 
while the  mission  province  or  its  congregations  retain  all  con- 
tributions or  monies  raised  locally. 

Constituted  of  five  members,  the  Mission  Board  is  elected 
by  the  general  synod,  is  responsible  to  it  and  renders  to  it  a 
comprehensive  and  detailed  report  of  all  its  administration. 
Its  financial  transactions  are  brought  into  review  and  thor- 
oughly examined,  and  full  account  must  be  rendered  for  the 
discharge  of  powers  and  commissions.  Of  the  five  members 
three  must  be  chosen  as  representatives  respectively  of  the 
German,    British    and    American    divisions    of    the    Moravian 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  2I9 

Church.  In  the  case  of  a  vacancy  requiring  an  inter-synodical 
election,  that  province  which  has  lost  its  representative  first 
makes  nomination  of  his  successor.  In  the  general  conduct 
of  the  missions,  in  the  management  of  the  finances,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  appointment  and  direction  of  missionaries  and 
superintendents,  the  Mission  Board  exercises  supreme  control. 
It  has  its  seat  at  Berthelsdorf,  near  Herrnhut,  in  Saxony,  the 
normal  term  of  office  of  its  members  being  ten  years — the 
interval  between  the  convocations  of  the  general  synod.  The 
Board  has  delegated  the  supervision  and  general  manage- 
ment of  certain  fields  to  one  or  another  provincial  executive 
of  the  home  churches.  Further  it  enjoys  the  right  of  consul- 
tation with  all  these  executive  bodies,  constituting  as  they  do 
conjointly  the  Directing  Board  of  the  Brethren's  Unity,  and 
on  matters  of  principle  or  in  affairs  of  highest  moment,  such 
as  the  problem  of  entering  a  new  or  abandoning  an  old  field, 
for  its  guidance  the  Mission  Board  may  require  from  them  a 
formal  vote.  Subordinate  officers  are  the  Treasurer  of  Mis- 
sions at  Herrnhut,  Saxony,  the  Secretaries  of  Missions  in  Lon- 
don and  in  America,  and  the  various  Agents  of  Missions  in  Ger- 
many, England  and  America.  These  officers  are  appointed  by 
the  central  body  and  are  authorized  to  receive  and  disburse 
contributions  in  accordance  with  established  rules,  and  repre- 
sent the  Mission  Board  in  other  ways. 


220  A   HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE    FINANCIAL    MANAGEMENT    OF    MORAVIAN    MISSIONS. 

Ever  since  their  inception  Moravian  missions  have  been  a 
work  of  faith,  and  their  history  illustrates  the  wonderful  pro- 
vision made  by  God  for  the  advance  of  His  kingdom.  Heavy 
deficiencies  have  frequently  occurred,  but  in  His  time  and  way 
they  have  been  made  good,  and  the  work  has  continued.  Dur- 
ing the  ten  years  preceding  the  general  synod  of  1899  the  aver- 
age annual  cost  of  the  entire  undertaking  was  $356,760,  an 
increase  of  $92,640  being  occasioned  by  the  growth  of  the  work, 
when  a  comparison  is  instituted  between  the  figures  at  the  close 
of  the  decade  and  those  at  its  commencement.  Three  mis- 
sion provinces  approached  self-support.  Jamaica  each  year 
averaged  contributions  amounting  to  $41,184,  and  drew  from 
the  general  treasury  $2,534;  the  Eastern  division  in  the  West 
Indies  brought  together  the  sum  of  $40,109  each  year,  and 
required  aid  amounting  to  $3,552;  South  Africa,  West,  con- 
tributed $34,617,  and  received  in  aid  $3,504. 

The  review  of  the  financial  status  of  the  work  presented  by 
the  Mission  Board  to  the  synod  further  disclosed  the  fact  that 
from  a  business  point  of  view  the  situation  was  critical.  Such 
it  still  remains.  With  every  effort  to  retrench  where  retrench- 
ment is  possible,  healthy  growth  is  a  condition  of  all  religious 
activity.  Vitality  and  extension  here  remain  mutually  retro- 
active. If  the  development  of  self-support  must  be  the  watch- 
word apprehended  with  increasing  clearness  in  each  mission 
province,  the  need  of  more  complete  consecration  of  time  and 
means  and  of  a  faithful  discharge  of  stewardship  requires  to  be 
borne  in  upon  the  conscience  of  the  home  churches  with  all 
possible  impressiveness. 

The  sources  of  revenue  for  Moravian  Missions  are  the  fol- 
loAving : 

I.  Annual  contributions  from  members  of  the  Mora\aan 
Church  in  the  home  provinces. 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  221 

2.  Annual  contributions  from  friends,  not  themselves  mem- 
bers of  the  Moravian  Church. 

3.  The  interest  of  funded  legacies,  bequeathed  with  the  pro- 
viso that  the  capital  shall  remain  intact.  In  some  instances 
the  terms  of  the  bequest  have  designated  a  specific  phase  of 
the  work. 

4.  Legacies  devoid  of  any  explicit  proviso,  whose  employ- 
ment is  wholly  at  the  discretion  of  the  Mission  Board. 

5.  Annual  grants  of  various  auxiliary  associations.  Of  these 
the  following  are  the  more  important,  in  the  order  of  their 
establishment.  The  Brethren  s  Socicly  for  the  Furtherance  of  tlie 
Gospel,  founded  in  1741,  in  London,  and  constituted  wholly  of 
members  of  the  Moravian  Church,  the  British  Provincial  Elders 
being  ex-officio  directors,  provides  for  the  current  expenses  of 
the  mission  in  Labrador,  in  part  by  trade.  The  Society  of  tlie 
United  Brethren  for  Propagating^  the  Ciospel  Among  the  Heathen 
was  reorganized  at  Bethlehem.  Pennsylvania,  in  1787,  the  origi- 
nal association  having  been  founded  at  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1745.  Chartered  in  1788,  its  directors  are  the  trus- 
tees of  a  fund  bequeathed  by  ("lodfrey  Haga  of  Philadelphia  in 
1825.  The  Provincial  Elders  of  the  .American  Moravian 
Church.  North,  are  ex-ofUcio  directors,  and  this  societv  with 
the  aid  of  the  American  congregations  has  assumed  the  finan- 
cial support  of  the  mission  in  Alaska,  besides  being  specially 
obligated  to  aid  the  missions  amongst  the  Indians  of  North 
America.  The  Brethren's  Missionary  Society  of  Zeist  was  estab- 
lished in  1793,  and  devotes  its  energies  especially  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  enterprise  in  Surinam.  The  London  Association  in 
Aid  of  the  Missions  of  the  United  Brethren  occupies  the  unique 
position  of  a  missionary  evangelical  alliance  which  devotes  its 
entire  income  to  the  support  of  Moravian  Missions.  Estab- 
lished in  1817  by  friends  who  sympathized  with  the  church  in 
its  embarrassment  caused  by  losses  sustained  during  the  Napo- 
leonic Wars,  it  consists  exclusively  of  members  of  other 
churches  than  the  Moravian.  During  the  decade  preceding 
the  general  synod  of  1899,  ^'i'*^  association  contributed  $475,000. 
The  Missionary  Union  of  North  Schles^cig,  founded  in  1843,  ^^^s 
rendered  aid  especially  to  missions  in  Danish  colonies.  Besides 
these  there  arc  a  number  of  Women's,  Young  Men's  and  Juve- 
nile societies,  generally  local  in  their  membership. 


222  A   HISTORY   OF 

6.  A  considerable  part  of  the  income  is  derived  from  the  mis- 
sion fields  themselves,  and  in  a  three-fold  manner.  It  is  a  fun- 
damental principle  of  missionary  activity  that  the  converts  shall 
be  taught  the  obligation  and  blessing  of  systematic  beneficence 
at  an  early  stage  in  their  Christian  experience.  Stated  contri- 
butions are  therefore  expected  from  them  in  support  of  their 
churches.  Of  these  contributions  the  officers  of  the  several 
congregations  have  the  disposal.  They  are  also  encouraged  to 
organize  missionary  societies  and  gather  special  collections,  in 
order  that  the  gospel  may  be  carried  into  "the  regions  beyond." 
In  a  few  of  the  mission  provinces,  especially  Labrador,  Surinam, 
South  Africa,  East  and  West,  trades  and  traffic  are  maintained 
for  the  benefit  of  the  missions.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Mission 
Board  to  place  these  busines  undertakings  in  the  charge  of 
men  with  commercial  training  and  experienced  in  mercantile  or 
manufacturing  pursuits.  Nevertheless,  though  not  mission- 
aries in  the  strictest  sense  and  though  holding  no  position 
involving  spiritual  work,  their  appointment  is  not  regarded 
merely  as  a  business  transaction.  They  consecrate  their  busi- 
ness ability  to  the  Lord,  and  perform  their  duties  in  accord- 
ance with  this  high  ideal,  the  furtherance  of  His  kingdom  being 
their  primary  aim.  The  relations  of  these  brethren  to  the  mis- 
sionaries proper  are  in  each  case  determined  by  the  Mission 
Board.  Until  a  mission  province  reaches  the  stage  of  recog- 
nized independence,  the  business  undertakings  stand  under  the 
immediate  supervision  of  the  constitutionally  appointed  boards 
of  the  province,  and  the  ultimate  supervision  of  the  Mission 
Board,  which  retains  the  right  of  final  decision  in  all  matters 
of  a  personal  or  of  a  business  character.  Detailed  reports  of 
the  business  are  sent  to  the  Mission  Board  at  stated  intervals. 
The  primary  object  of  these  undertakings  in  any  case  is  not  to 
gain  funds,  but  rather  to  assist  the  native  peoples  in  attaining 
Christian  civilization  by  promoting  habits  of  steady  industry 
and  by  holding  up  to  them  the  dignity  of  labor.  In  some 
instances,  moreover,  as  in  Labrador,  a  market  is  thus  provided 
for  the  proceeds  of  their  skill,  which  would  otherwise  be 
lacking. 

The  expenditures  of  the  missions  have  been  classified  as  fol- 
lows :  first,  expenditures  of  the  missions  themselves,  including 
the  support  or  the  salaries  of  the  missionaries,  as  also  traveling 
expenses  and  the  costs  of  erecting  and  maintaining  buildings, 


MORAVIAN    MISSIONS.  223 

as  well  as  the  costs  of  the  mission  schools ;  second,  furloughs 
with  pay,  pensions  and  the  education  of  the  children  of  mis- 
sionaries— every  missionary,  whether  foreign  agent  or  native 
born,  on  retiring  from  active  service  from  incapacity,  or  for 
due  cause  with  the  consent  of  the  Mission  Board  after  serving 
for  a  period  of  years,  being  granted  a  pension,  every  widow  of 
a  missionary  being  similarly  provided  for,  homes  for  mission- 
aries in  transit  or  in  retirement  existing  in  Germany  and  in 
America,  and  the  children  of  foreign  agents  being  educated  at 
the  expense  of  the  church ;  third,  the  education  and  training  of 
candidates  for  mission  service,  including  medical  education  in 
a  number  of  instances ;  and  finally,  the  salaries  of  the  Mission 
Board  and  their  subordinates  and  the  necessary  expenses  of 
administration. 

A  system  of  graded  salaries  and  of  graded  pensions  has  been 
approved  in  principle  by  the  general  synod.  ^lissionaries  who 
are  compelled  to  return  on  account  of  climatic  conditions,  or 
who  without  being  disabled  are  no  longer  available  for  service 
in  the  foreign  field,  are  at  disposal  for  service  at  home,  either 
in  the  employment  of  the  Mission  Board  or  by  transfer  to  the 
work  of  one  of  the  home  provinces. 

The  Mission  Board,  possessing  corporate  rights  in  accord- 
ance with  Saxon  law,  holds  title  to  the  mission  property  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  and  administers  the  entire  property  and 
the  finances  of  the  missions,  as  it  does  all  other  matters  within 
its  jurisdiction,  confcrcntially,  though  one  of  its  members  is 
specially  charged  with  the  carrying  out  of  the  resolutions 
formulated  and  the  instructions  given  in  regard  to  questions 
of  property  and  finance.  Associated  with  the  Mission  Board 
and  especially  with  its  financial  executive  is  an  advisory  board 
known  as  "The  Financial  Committee  of  the  Missions,"  consti- 
tuted of  four  business  men  elected  by  the  general  synod,  one  of 
them  being  the  "Manager  of  the  Financial  Office  of  the  Mis- 
sions." All  important  financial  measures,  investments,  ques- 
tions connected  with  the  extension  of  trade  for  the  benefit  of 
the  missions,  the  yearly  budget  and  the  annual  statement  of 
accounts  must  be  brought  before  the  "Financial  Committee" 
before  final  action  is  taken  by  the  Mission  Board,  who  must 
be  guided  by  the  opinion  of  the  Committee.  In  the  matter  of 
investments  the  greatest  caution  is  required  and  all  speculation 
is  prohibited.     The  Mission  Board  is  not  permitted  to  advance 


224  A    HISTORY    OF 

money  to  missionaries  or  other  persons  for  private  purposes^ 
even  as  the  regulations  prohibit  missionaries  from  engaging 
in  business  or  speculation  on  their  own  account. 

After  the  estimates  of  the  various  mission  provinces  have 
been  made  and  sent  in,  the  "Finance  Committee"  submits  them 
to  a  thorough  scrutiny  and  lays  them  with  its  comments  before 
the  Mission  Board  for  approval.  The  annual  budget  is  then 
completed  by  the  Mission  Board,  and  each  mission  province  is 
obligated  to  abide  by  the  estimate  thus  determined.  A  sum- 
mary of  this  budget  is  published  in  the  Missionsblatt,  that  mem- 
bers and  friends  of  the  church  may  know  what  will  be  required 
for  the  ensuing  year.  Provision  is  made  for  an  annual  audit 
of  the  accounts,  and  an  examination  of  the  securities  and  cash 
balance.  Extraordinary  audits  also  take  place  from  time  to 
time.  The  several  executive  boards  of  the  four  provinces  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  that  jointly  constitute  "The  Directing 
Board  of  the  Unity,"  may  at  any  time  inspect  the  books  and 
have  the  right  to  require  detailed  information  respecting  the 
annual  statement. 

Finally  the  general  synod,  constituted  of  representatives  of 
the  entire  church  and  acting  by  commission  of  all  its  provinces, 
institutes  a  searching  inquiry  into  the  financial  management  and 
into  the  entire  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  missions.  It 
formulates  and  from  time  to  time  amends  the  regulations  deter- 
mining the  relations  of  the  missionaries  to  the  Board,  reviews 
and  revises  the  constitutions  of  the  several  mission  provinces, 
determines  the  principles  governing  salaries,  furloughs,  retire- 
ments, pensions  and  the  education  of  missionaries'  children, 
and  indicates  the  general  spirit  in  which  the  mission  work  shall 
be  conducted.  In  the  last  resort,  the  missions  stand  directly 
in  the  control  of  the  general  synod,  and  therefore  also  of  the 
entire  Moravian  Church. 


INDEX. 


Th«  rrfcrrnc»-»  «re  to  p«K»  niimh«ri 


Abini,  67. 

Abrnham,  the  Mohican,  55. 

Abr.iham  of  St.  Thomas,  5. 

Abyssinia,  32,  ^^. 

Act    of    N.    Y.    Assembly    against    the 

Moravians,  25. 
Administrative    polity   of   the    Missions, 

The.  215-219. 
Adrai  (Noah),  144. 
Africa  (see  Algeria,  Cape  Colony,  Egypt. 

Guinea  Coast). 
Africa,  East  Equatorial,  194-199.  201. 
Africo,  16.  70. 
Agents  of  Missions,  219. 
Aim  of  Missions,  The,  209. 
Alaska,  176,  186-193,  204,  221. 
Albina,  206. 
Algeria,  17. 

Andrew,  Negro  of  St.  Thomas,  S. 
Anna,  Negress  of  St.  Thomas,  5. 
Annaszorg,  122. 
Antes,  John,  33. 
Anthony   the  Mohican,  51. 
Anthony,  Negro,  J    3,  5. 
Antigua,  38,  63,  88,  90,  lo'',   117,   120, 

159.  160. 
Apiif)inlment  of  Missionaries,  213,  216. 
Aporo,  91. 
Arabi,  67,  123. 
Arawacks,  The,  39. 
Arbalik,  13 

Audits  of  Mission  accounts,  224. 
Aukas,  The  (Djukas),  145. 
Australia,    131-134,    149-151,    170,    185, 

214. 

Bachman,  Mrs.  Henry  T.,  193. 

Bachman,  Traugott,  198. 

Badham.  Thomas  LeojX)Ki.  137,  13.S. 

Badham,  Walter  L.  G.,  159,  179. 

Bagdad,  32. 

Baird.  Sir  David,  93. 

Baldan,  Joseph.  153. 

Ballein,  163. 

Bambey,  67,  92,  123. 

16 


Barbados.  64,  8S,  90,  ir>2,  106,  121,  137, 

138. 
Barham,  38. 
Barzillai,  92 
Basseterre,  64,  90. 
Batavia,  Surinam,  123. 
Bauer,  William,  207. 
Bauer,  William  Theodore,  163. 
Baur,  Richard,  148,  166. 
Bauss,  John  Conrad,  99. 
Baviaanskloof,   15,  70-75  (see  Genaden- 

dal). 
Baziya,  148,  166    183. 
Beaufort,  Jamaica,  105,  117. 
Bechler.  Ferdinand,  14S,  163. 
Beck. Jacob,  83,  100. 
Beck.  John,  12-14,  59.  too. 
Beck,  John  Christian,   loi. 
Beekhuizen,  122,  123. 
Beer>heba,  Ohio,  94. 
Beersheba,  Surinam,  143. 
Benesse,  33. 
Bennet,  64. 

Berbice  (see  Surinam). 
Berg-en-dal,  163. 

Berlin  Mission.ary  Society,  The,  197. 
Berthold,  Gustavus,  123. 
Berwig,  George,  14. 
Beterverwachting,  180. 
Belhabara,  Jamaica,  117,  139,  159. 
Belhania,  Moskito,  142,  161,  176. 
Bethania,  St.  John,  10,  36,  86. 
Bethany,  Jamaica,  117. 
Bethel,  Alaska,  190  193,  204. 
Bethel,  St.  Kitts,  100. 
Bethesda,  90.  106,  120. 
Bethesda,  Kaffraria,  1S3. 
Bethlehem,  Jama  ca.  103. 
Bethlehem,   Pa.,    22  31,  50,  56.  77,  94, 

176,  189. 
Boyer,  Michael  Ernot,  136. 
Bindsched  er,  Samuel,  130,  157. 
Birkby.  James,  64. 
Bishop,  Gilbert,  1 75 
Blackfellowg  of  Australia.  The,  I  ;i. 


226 


INDEX. 


Blair,  Peter,  142,  161. 

Bode,  De,  I48. 

Bohler,  Peter,  19-21,  23. 

Bohnisch,  Frederick,  5,  12,  13,  58. 

Bomper,  Abraham,  40. 

Bonilce,  7. 

Boers,  The,  72-74,  127. 

Boga,  Lake,  133. 

Bogue,  38. 

Bonatz,  Adolphus,  93,  1 11,  125. 

Bony,  149. 

Borm,  8. 

Bosjesfeld,  126. 

Bourquin,  Tlieodore,  156,  158,  174,  204. 

Bowana,  no,  169. 

Bowen,  John,  90. 

Boyle,  Captain,  89. 

Bramberg,  145. 

Brasen,  45. 

Breutel,  John  Christian,  116. 

Bridgetown,  Barbados,  88,  106,  121. 

Brief  Grammar  and   Vocabulary  of  the 

Eskimo    Language   of   North-western 

Alaska,  Schultze,  193. 
British  and  Foreign    Bible  Society,   86, 

100,  108,  158,  184. 
Brodbeck,  Jacob,  173. 
Brodersen,  Jasper,  60,  85. 
Brookshaw,  Benjamin,  63,  64. 
Brown,  Edwin,  201. 
Brown,  Natbanael,  66,  90. 
Brown,  Peter,  63,  64. 
Brown  Bank,  141. 
Brownfield,  John,  20. 
Bucker,  John,  10,  36. 
Briidergarten,  34. 
Bruyn,  de,  14. 
Buchner,  Charles,  201    207. 
Buchner,  John  Henry,  1 18,  119,  137. 
Buckley,  John,  121. 
Buddhoe,  116. 

Budget,  The  annual,  217,  223,  2^4. 
Biininger,  Abraham,  20. 
Buergers,  147,  183. 
Biittner,  25. 

Bunkershill,  Barbados,  88. 
Burghardt,  John  Christian,  82. 
Buriats,  The,  134. 
Bushmen,  The,  15. 
Bush  Negroes,  The,  39,  66,  67,  123-125 

143-146,  163,  206. 
Butler,  Captain,  81. 
Butler,  Christian,  34. 
Byhan,  Gottlieb,  81,  96,  97. 


Cairo,  33. 
Caledon,  Lord,  93. 
California,  200. 
Campbell.  Alexander,  44. 
Canaan,  Indian  Territory,  175. 


Cape  Colony,  15,  16,  6g,  70-75,  92,  93, 

108-I11,    125-128,    146-149,    163-170, 

182-184,  206,  207. 
Cape  Town,  182. 
Caribs,  The,  130. 
Caries,  Zacharias,  38,  65. 
Carmel,  Alaska,  191-193,  204. 
Carmel,  Jamaica,  38,  65,  66,    103,    105, 

140 
Catawbas,  The,  81. 
Cathcart,  Captain,  85. 
Catharina  Sophia,  Surinam,  122. 
Cayugas,  The,  50. 
Cedar  Hall,  106,  117,  120,  159. 
Central  Asia  (see  Himalayan  iVIission). 
Ceylon,  16.  17,  18. 
Chaguanas,  200. 

Charlottenburg,  Surinam,  108,  122. 
Cherokees,  The,  19,  81,  95-97,  175,   176, 

204. 
Chickasaws,  The,  81. 
Children  of  Missionaries,  The,  223. 
Chilloway,  Job,  52. 
China,  32,  134, 151-153. 
Chippeways,  The,  56,  57. 
Chot,  207. 

Christensen,  Thomas,  86. 
Chudleigh,  Cape,  86,  136. 
Church,  John,  90. 
Church,  Samuel,  66. 
Clarke,  General,  74, 
Clarkson,  126,  164. 
Classification  of  members,  211. 
Clauder,  Henry  G.,  96,  97. 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  Tl  e,  142. 
Clemens,  Augustus,  14  {. 
Clemens,  Frederick,  179. 
Clemens,  Herman,  162 
Clevia,  143. 
Clifton  Hill,  121. 
(-.oil'ycamp,  125,  145. 
ComLe,  107,  181. 
Comenius,  2. 

Conferences,  Mission,  216,  217. 
Constantinople,  32. 
Contributions,  220. 
Coolies,  The,  162,  2co,  206. 
Cooper's  Creek,  151. 
Copts,  The,  32. 
''Cordelia,"  The,  175. 
Corn  Island,  142,  160. 
Cornelius,  Native  Helper,  63. 
Cost  of  the  Missions,  220. 
Cottica,  The,  40. 
Craig,  General,  74. 
Crakau,  Daniel,  20I. 
Creeks,  The,  19,  81. 
Cumberland  Inlet,  I15. 
Cumming's  Lodge,  160,  206. 
Cunow,  Godfrey  Andrew.  137,  138,  148. 
Cupido,  Christian,  67. 


INDEX. 


227 


Cuyahoga.  The,  56. 
Cuyler,  Colonel,  109, 


Daehne,  Christopher,  ^0-42,  67. 

Damietta,  32. 

Daniel,  Labrador,  136. 

Danke,  John  Henry,  i;^. 

David,  Christian,   10,  12,  14. 

Uelawares,  The,  26,  28,  ;,i,  49,  51,  77, 

98. 
Delmi.in,  16. 

Demerara,  137,  i6o,  iJ'o,  206. 
Denke,  Christian  Frederick,  79,  Si. 
Dennis,  Governor,  31. 
D'Esneval,  Count,  32. 
Detroit,  54,  55. 
Detterer,  Cairie,  193. 
Dillon,  Count.  65. 
Dingwall,  John,  206. 
Directing  Board  of  the  Unity,  The,  2:4. 
Discipline.  210,  211,  215. 
Djukas  (see  Aukas). 
Dober,  Leonard,  3  7. 
Dobler,  Theodore,  123. 
Drachart,  Lawrence,  35,  43,  44. 
Drexler,  144. 


Earthquakes,  120,  140 

East  Equatorial  Africa,  194-199.  2CI. 

East  Indies,  1  he,  (see  Ceylon,  Tranque 
bar,  Malabar,  Nicobar,  SeramjHjre, 
I'atna). 

Ebenezer,  Australia,  149-151,  170. 

Eberman,  Wm.,  lo^ 

Kconomy  at  Hethlehem,  The,  26-2S. 

I'.den,  Jamaica,  104. 

K<li,'ehill,  James  V.,  160. 

l-'dwards,  William,  57,  79. 

Edwin,  Miss,  37. 

Egede,  Hans,  i,  10,  12. 

Kgypt,  32,  ii. 

Eiirle,  Augusta,  185. 

Ellas,  Commissioner,  184. 

Elim,  Cape  Colony,  no,  164. 

Elinde,  206. 

Eller,  18. 

Ellerman,  149. 

Ellis,  John,  103,  104. 

Ellis,  Thomas,  66,  90. 

Elmina,  16. 

Eisner,  Augxistus  Ferdinand,  11  \  i  ^c. 

Elukolweni,  i6s,  169,  207. 

Emancipation  (see  Slavery,  Abolition  if; 

En)maus,  Jamaica,  38. 

Emmaus,  St.  John.  62,  88. 

Emtumasi.  167,  168. 

Enkelman,  Theodore,  l6l. 

Engolini,   147. 

Enon,  Lape  Colony,  loS    1^5,  164. 


Entwanazana,  169,  183. 
Ephraim  on  the  Corcntyne,  40,  66. 
Ej)hrata,  Moskito,  142,  143,  176 
Erdmann,  Augustus,  158,  177,  205. 
Erhardt,  John  Christian,  35,  36. 
Eschcnbach,  Andrew,  21. 
Eskimos,  The.  u    156  158. 
Eskimos  of  Alaska,  The,  180-189. 
Estiidge,  121. 
Etembeni,  206. 
Ethiopia,  32. 

Ettwein,  Jchn.  53,  56,  57,  Si. 
Ezincuka,  166,  183. 


Fairfield,  Canada,  57,  76,  79,  80  81,  97, 
9^;  175- 

Fairtield.  Jamaica,  103,  117,  140,  180. 

Feder,  Theodore,  9. 

Federal    Assembly   of   the    Presbyterian 
Church  of  Australia,  150,  185,  200. 

Feurig,  Custavus,  1 31 

Fiabaiema,  198. 

Finances  of  the  Missions,  The,  217,  220- 
224. 

Financial   Committee  of    the    Missioiu, 
The,  22^,  224. 

Fingoos,  The,  126. 

Fischer,  Jolin  Jacob,  90,  91. 

Pive  Islands,  Antigua,  120. 

Fliegel,  John,  100. 

Flint  River,  82. 

Fort  George  de  la  Mina,  16. 

Fort  Stanwix,  Treaty  of,  52. 

Foster,  38. 

Foster,  Edward,  iSo. 

F'ranklin,  Benjamin,  30. 

Frazier,  Captain   86. 

Freeh,  Theol  aid,  44. 

Frere,  Sir  Bartlc,  16  \ 

Friedensberg.  62,  89.  140. 

Friedensfeld,  89. 

Fricdenshiltten,  50. 

Friedensiadt,  51.  52   q  5 

Fnedensthal,  St.  Croix.  10.  36,  62. 

Ftiedrichsthal,  Greenl.uid,  99,  uo,  112 

.  »55.  »73- 
I'lies,  Arnold  de,  99. 
Fritsch,  John,  no,  125. 
Fralich,  Christian,  21. 
I'u  .\hing,  Lazarus    206. 
lulneck,  Jamaica,  103,  105,  119,  140. 
Furloughs,  217. 


Ga  I'untzog,  207. 

Gambold,  John  (Indian  Missionary),  82 

Gambold,  Mrs.,  82. 
Gansee,  143,  145,  163. 
Gardelin,  Governor,  5. 


228 


INDEX. 


Gardiner,  John,  64. 

Garrison,  Captain,  40. 

Gelelemend,  77. 

Genadendal,   75,  92,  93,  109,  125,   127, 

128,  147,  163,  182,  214. 
Genadendal,  The  Bell  of,  72-74 
General  Missionary  Conferences,  217. 
Genth,  91. 
Georgetown,  206. 
Georgia,  19,  20. 

German  East  Africa,  194-199,  201. 
Gilroy,  Robert,  44. 
Glew.  John,  44. 
Glikkikan,  51,  52. 
Glockler,  Christian,  102. 
Gnadenhiilten  on  the  Mahoni,  26,  28,  29, 

58- 
Gnadenhutten,  O.,  53,  55,  77,  94- 
Gobat,  Bishop,  171. 
Goedverwacht,  126,  147,  183. 
Goejaba,  145. 
Gordon.  148. 

Gorke,  John  Godfrey,  85,  loo. 
Goshen,  Cape  Colony,  127,  183. 
Goshen,  O.,  77,  79,  80,  81,  94. 
Goschgoschiink,  51. 
Gottlieb,  Surinam,  143. 
Gottlob,  Labrador,  136. 
Gottwald,  64. 

Gracebay,  Antigua,  90,  1 20. 
Gracefield,  Antigua,  120 
Gracehill,  Antigua,  64,  120. 
Graham's  Hall  (see  Cumming's  Lodge), 

181,  206. 
Grasmann,  Andrew,  13,  14,  17. 
Grasmann,  John,  69. 
Great  Princess  Plantation,  n6. 
Greenland,  1-4,  10-14,  58-60,  83-86,  99- 
100,  112-113,  136,  154-155   173.  202- 
203. 

Grego,  67. 

Greider,  Edwin  C,  205. 

Grillich,  John  George,  83,  1 00. 

Groenekloof,  93  (see  Mamre). 

Groot  Chatillon,  206. 

Grotthausen,  Dr.,  7. 

Grube,  4^- 

Grunewald,  142. 

Guebres,  The,  32. 

GUnther,  Louis,  193. 

GUtslaff,  Dr.,  134. 

GUttner,  John,  40. 

Gui,  207. 

Guinea  Coast,  The,  16,  17. 

Gwazela,  Paul,  169. 


Hafner,  John,  20l. 
Hafa.  91. 

Haga,  Godfrey,  94. 
Hagen,  John,  26,  81. 


Hagenauer,   Frederick    Augustus,    149, 

150,  185,  200. 
Hakinkpomagu,  77. 
Hall,  Moskito,  160. 
Hallbeck,  John  Peter,  109,  no,  126. 
Haller,  John,  182. 
Halter,  Adam,  126. 
Haman,  Adam,  88. 
Hamilton,  Alan,  117. 
Hamiltons  of  Tobago,  The,  65,  90,  106. 
Hanna,  George  Henry,  179. 
Hansen,  Paul.  134. 
Hardenberg,  Joshua,  147, 
" Harmony r  The,  loi. 
Harrison,  General,  80. 
Hartmann,  Adolphus.  170,  175,  189. 
Hartmann,  John  Gottlieb,  123. 
Hartmann,  John  Henry,  148,  166,  169. 
Hartmann,  Mary,  123  125. 
Hartvig,  Eugene,  117. 
Harvey,  Bennet,  lo6. 
Hasting,  John  Lewis,  179. 
Hasting,  Herman,  169. 
Haugk,  William,  157. 

Haven,  Jens,  43-^6. 

Haven,  John  Benjamin,  79. 

Haynes  family.  The,  106. 

Hebron,  Labrador,  loi,  113,  114,  137. 

Heckewelder,  John,  52,  76,  95. 

Heerendyk,  Surinam,  122. 

Heidelberg,  Pa.,  22. 

Heinze,  Christian,  100. 

"Helpers,"  212. 

Hemel-en-Aarde,  109. 

Hennig,  Paul,  207. 

Henry,  Charles,  77. 

Henry,  WilHam,  76. 

''Herald^  The,  161,  178. 

Herbst,  Christopher,  90. 

Hermann,  John  Gottlieb,  119. 

Hermhut,   1-4,  18,  19,  3.1,  133. 

Herrnhut  Bible  Society,  The,  178,  206. 

Hey,  Nicholas,  201. 

Heyde,  Augustus  William,  135,  151-153, 
184. 

Hickel,  Philip  Emil,  182. 

Hicks,  Abraham,  96. 

Hicks,  Christian  Renatus,  q6. 

Himalayan  Mission,  The,  134- 1 35,  151- 
153,  170,  184,  207,  214. 

Hirschel,  32. 

Hlavatschek,  Adolphus,  155. 

Hlubis,  The,  166-169. 

Hoch,  Jacob  Jonathan,  141. 

Hoch,  Samuel,  103. 

Hocker,    Christian    Frederick    William, 

32,  33- 
Hoffman   John  Frederick,  108,  iio. 
Hogg,  Quinlin,  160,  180. 
Holland,  John  F.,  82. 
Homes  for  retired  roissionariej,    54. 


INDEX. 


229 


Hope,  Surinam,  66,  90,  91. 

Hopedale,  Labrador,  36,  45,  60,  6i,  86, 

»37- 
Hornig,  Godfrey    108. 
Hottentots  The.  1 5,  72,  74,  109. 
Houtkloof,  126. 
Howell,  Philip,  90. 
Huber,  Mary,  191. 
Huckoff,  Henry,  16. 
Hilbner,  ("hrisiian.  134. 
Hurricanes    64   S6,  102,   120,   121,   130- 

140,  142.  148,  Is9,  161. 
Hulton,  Janes,  43. 


Iceland,  34. 

I^dlorpait,  136. 

Imhoff  von,  18. 

Indian  Missions  in   North  America,  19- 

31,  48-57,  76-82,94-98,  175,  200,  204, 

214. 
hid  ans  of  the  Moskito  Coast,  The,  130 

214. 
Indians  of  Surinam,    The    39,  66,  90-92. 
Instructions  to  missionaries,  209 
Ipiana,  198,  201. 
Irene,  Island,  19. 
Irene   1  he,  14. 
Irish,  Nathanael,  21. 
Iroquois.  The,  22,  25,  26,  50,  52. 
Irwin  Hill,  90    103,  / 19. 
Island,  plantat  on  in  Jamaica,  38. 
Isles,  Samuel,  38,  63. 
Ispahan,  32. 

Isiael,  Christian  Gottlieb,  9. 
Ivenak,  Samuel,  loo. 
Iveraar,  Daniel  Peter,  163. 


lack  son,  Joseph,  W\  90. 

Jackson,  Dr.  Sheldon,  1 89. 

Jacobs,  Surinam,  123. 

Jacques,  Native  Helper,  123. 

Jaeschke,  Henry  Augustus,  135,  151  15^, 

171,  184. 
jaeschke,  N.  A.,  34. 
Jamaica,  37,  38,  65,   102,  103- io(.,   117 

120,  139-141,  159,  1 78-1  So,  205,  220 
Jannasch,  Herman.  204. 
Jansen,  Governor,  u2. 
jeflTe,  Magdalena,  185. 
"Jemima^'  The,  86. 
Jensen,  Governor,  75. 
Jensen,  Stephen.  4.1.  45. 
"Jtney  Piitiet"  The,  44. 
Jerusalem    (Hospit.il     for   Lepers),     49. 

171,  185,  207. 
Johanneskirk    164. 
Tona?;,  Charles,  1S3. 
}oncs,  1  homas.  67. 
Jongquahamik,  79. 


Joppa,  Moskito,  141,  160. 
Jordan,  Jwhn,  154. 
Joshua,  Indian  Helper,  78,  79. 
Jung,  Michael.  70,  79,  80. 
Junjjraann,  John  George,  50. 
Jiirgersen,  Paulsen,  131. 


Kaffirs,  The,    108,  no,   127,  146,   164- 

U^i)    1S3-184,  214. 
K.alTr.iria,  146,  148,  166-169,  214. 
h.ajarnak,  13. 
K.dkoen,  144. 
Kalmucks,  The,  134. 
Kampcn,  16. 
Kangersaut,  156. 

Kaniiler,  Km  est  George,  131,  i  }2. 
Kapik,  86. 
Kararaniuka,  201. 
Karpik,  .13 

Karata,  161,  176,  177. 
K.iskaskunk,  51. 
Keflenbrink-Ascheraden,  Baroness    149, 

171. 
Keilett,  Captain,  115. 
Kessten,  Christ  pher,  67. 
Keisten,  Jonathan,  206. 
Kickapoos,  The,  81. 
Kilbuck.  John  Ilenr}-,  190-193. 
Kilibuck,  Mrs.,  192    193. 
Kinder  Vriend,  De,  14S. 
King.  John    136.  MSMS- 
Kingminguse,  46. 
Kleinschmidt,  John  Conrad,  84,  85,  86. 

99,  ICO. 
Kleinschmidt,  Samuel.  114,  155. 
Kleinwelke,  154,  161. 
Klos^.  John  Gottlieb,  iii. 
Kluge,  John  Peter,  TJ-~i<),  91. 
Kmoch,  John  George,  .'•6,  loi. 
Knight,  Thomas,  43. 
Koegcl,  Henry.  136,  154 
Ko.bing,  Charles  Rudolph,  i;;6, 128. 
Kull)ing,  William  L.,  207. 
Konigseer,  Christopher  Michael,  59,  60. 
K5ni^'seer,  Mrs.,  loo. 
Korncr,  John,  86. 
Kohlineister,  B'njamin,  86. 
Kohrhammer,  John  Philip,  75    v2,  93 
Kohrhammer,  .^ister,  108. 
Kopjes  Kasteel,  126. 
Kopperamanna,  I^ke,  151. 
Kou^hur,  135. 
Kramer,  Jonathan,  151. 
Kranich,  Chri^tian  Frederick,  09,  100. 
Kranich,  John  Frederick,  85. 
KQhn.  Frederick  William,  128,   148   1S2. 
Kiihn,  William  Juiius,  151. 
Kiihnel,  John  Christian,  70,  72.  74,  93 
Klister,  'ihcod  re,  126,  148. 
Kukallaya   161,  176. 


230 


INDEX. 


Kulenkamp,  i6. 

Kund,  Michael,  32. 

Kuskokwim,  The,  (see  Bethel) 

Kutti,  68. 

Kybodo,  16. 

Kyelang,  135,  151-153,  171,  207. 


LaTrobe,  Benjamin,  174   175. 
LaTrobe,  Charles  James,  98,  117. 
LaTrobe,  Charles  Joseph,  133,  134. 
LaTrobe,  Christian  Ignatius,  108. 
LaTrobe,  James,  69,  172. 
Labrador,  34-36,  43-47,   60-62.   86,   100, 

113-115,    136-137,     155-158,    174,    175. 

204,  214,  221. 
Ladak,  135,  184. 
Lahul,  135,  152,  207. 
Lake  Boga,  133 
Lake  Kopperamanna,  151. 
Lake,  Major,  135. 
Langballe,  Thomas,  91. 
Lange,  Conrad,  32. 
Langerfeld,  Eugene,  162. 
Lapland,  14. 

Larisch,  Christian  von,  14. 
Larsen,  Peter,  179. 
Lawmakhannek,  51. 
Layritz,  45. 

Lebanon,  Antigua,  120. 
Legacies,  221. 
Leh,  135,  184. 
Lehanna,  167,  169. 
Lehmann.  Labrador,  45. 
Lehmann,  Surinam,  145,  163. 
Lehman,  Joseph,  127. 
Lelong.  Isaac   15. 
Lemmertz,  no. 
Leopold,  Tobias,  3,  4,  7. 
Lepers,   Homes  for,   109,  123.  127,   148, 

149,  171,  185,  207. 
Lewis,  Christina,  183. 
Lichtenau,  Greenland,  59,  85.   113,  136, 

154,  174. 
Lichtenau,  Ohio,  53. 
Lichtenfels,  58. 

Lichtenthaeler,  Abraham,  iig,  141,  159. 
Liebisch  Samuel,  60,  92. 
Liliendal,  122. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  206. 
Lind  (Alaska),  190. 
Lind,  Alfred,  141,  179. 
Lindber.  Captain,  85. 
Linder,  Benjamin,  176. 
Linder,  Charles,  136. 
Lineback,  Benjamin,  176. 
Lister,  Christian,  45,  66,  90. 
Literary    Work  of  Missionaries,  40,   58, 

59,  60,  63,  66,  80,  85,  86,  95,  99,  100, 

108,  134,  148,  152.   155,  158,   171,  178, 

184,  206. 


Lititz,  Jamaica,  117. 
London,  35,  43,  44. 
London  Association  in  Aid  of  Moravian 

Missions,  The,  140,  221. 
London  Missionary  Society,  The,  19S. 
Lonsdale,  Lord,  193. 
Loretz,  John,  62. 
Loskiel    George  Henry,  79. 
Louwskloof,  126 
Lubenya,  169. 

Luckenbach,  Abraham,  77-79,  98. 
Ludini,  168. 

Lundberg,  Eugene,  131,  143. 
Lundberg,  Eugene  (Labrador),  loi,  175. 


Mack,  Edwin  J.,  175. 

Mack,  John  Martin,  25,  26,  62. 

Madras,  32. 

Magadla,  183. 

Magdala,  Moskito,  131,  142,  161,  176. 

Magdalene  of  Baviaanskloof,  71,  75. 

Makkovik,  204. 

Malabar  Mission.  The.  18. 

Mallalieu,  William,  119. 

Malleville,  von,  62. 

Malvern.  105. 

Mamre,  Cape  Colony  (see  Groenekloof), 

164. 
Mamre  on  the  Bicha,  127. 
Managua,  Treaty  of,  142,  177. 
Manantao,  200. 
Manasseh  (Surinam),  144. 
Mangek,  13. 
Mapasa,  no. 
Mapoon,  201. 
Maripastoon.  144-146. 
Marsveld,  Henry,  70,  73. 
Martin,  Albert,  204. 
Martin,  Augustus,  205. 
Martin,  Frederick,  7,  9,  24. 
Martin,  George,  197,  201. 
Martin,  Traugott,  loo. 
Martinez,  200. 
Martinssen,  16. 
Marx,  Benno,  148. 
Marx,  Charles  R.,  184. 
Matilda,  Moskito,  131. 
Matthews,  James,  150. 
Matuaris,  The.  143,  144. 
Mazwi,  Samuel,  166. 
McClure,  Captain,  115. 
McNair,  Captain.  96,  97. 
.VIeder,  John,  63. 
Medical   Missions,    210,    223    (see    Leh, 

Lepers). 
Meissel,  151. 

Meissner.  John  Godfrey,  123. 
Mentzel,  Jonathan,  113. 
Menzel,  Henry,  84,  85. 
Merere,  197. 


INDEX. 


231 


Metopotamia,  Jamaica,  38,  103,  105. 
'■•Messtnafr   of   Peare,"    The,    141,    142, 

I4J,  161. 
"  A/,-/a."  The,  161,  178. 
Methods  of  missionary  activity,   2io-:'i4. 
Meyer,  Henry,  147,  166-169. 
Meyer,  Themiore,  198,  201. 
Mico  t  harity.  The,  1 1 6,  159. 
Miertsching,  Ji  hn  Augustus.  115. 
Mikak,  4.),  45,  46. 
Miksch,  Michael,  17. 
Mission  Board,  The,   202,  212,  213,  214, 

2I5--'I9,  220-224. 
Mission  Debts,  112,  154    173,  201. 
Mi.ssion  Expenses  and  Receipts,  220-223. 
Mission   Institute    at    Nicsky.  The,   185, 

216. 
Mii'sion  Stations,  215. 
Missionaries,  215-217. 
Mi.ssioiiaries,  Homes  fur,  154. 
Afissioriary  Intdlii^tncer,  Tiie,  94. 
Missions,  Administration  of  the,  215-223. 
Missions,  Finances  uf  the,  220  224. 
Mi.ssions,  Statistics  of  the  (see  .staiisticsV 
Mizpah,  Jamaica,   141 
Mnari,  183. 
Mohicans,  The,  24. 
Mongolia,  17,  32,  13}. 
Montgomery,  John,  05,  8S. 
Montgcimer)-,  Tobago,  107,  121. 
Montuur,  Madame,  23. 
MfX)re,  Henr)',  160,  206. 
Moravian  Hill,  182. 
Moriah,  Tobag  ',  122. 
Morris,  Governor,  31. 
Mortim-  r,  Benjamin,  77. 
Morton,  John  Thomas,  .:o2. 
Moskito    Coast,    The,    129-131,    141-143, 

160-161,  176-178,  205. 
MUcke,  John  Gottlieb.  88. 
Milller,  Francis,  185,  .207. 
Mug  ford,  Francis,  45. 
Muncics,  The,  31,  57. 
Mvenyane,  168,  169,  207. 
Myalism,  118. 


Nain,  Ijibrador,  45,  86,  101,  II3, 137.157. 

Nain,  I*a.,  29,  31,  48. 

Nakin,  John,  III    12S,  183. 

Nancawery,  68. 

Nanticokcs,  The,  77. 

Nai)ier,  Sir  f).  F.,  126. 

Nathanael,  St.  Thomas.  8. 

Native  Agency,  211. 

Native    Ministry-,    iii,    121,    138-139,  it)0, 

161,  175,206,  207,  211,  214. 
Nazareth,  Fa.,  20.  21,  30,  154. 
Nazareth,  Jamaica,  I17. 
Netawatwes,  52,  53. 
Neubaus,  126. 


New  Amsterdam,  107. 

New  Hambey  (see  Hambey). 

New  Carmel  (see  Carmel). 

New  Fden  (see  Kdcn). 

New  Fairfield  (see  Fairfield,  Canada). 

New  Gnadenliiilten,  56. 

New    Hermhut,  Greenland,    11,    13,    58, 

59,  S;,  112,  136,  174. 
New  Herrnhut,  St.  Thomas,  8,  88,  154. 
New  Hope,  Jamaica,  117,  i.ii. 
New  Salem,  56,  57,  79. 
New  Springplace,  175,  170. 
New  York,  23,  24-26. 
Newby.  J(  seph,  106. 
Newfield,  go,  106. 
Ngangelizwe.  166,  169. 
.Nicaragua  (see  Moskito  Coast). 
Nicobar  Islands,  34,  68,  69. 
Niebert,  Theodore,  179. 
Niesky,  133,  207,  2l6. 
Nisbet,  James,  36. 
Nisky,  St.  Thomas,  3t),  62,  88,   140,  178, 

.'79- 
.Nitschmanu,    Hishop    David,    I,   2,  4,  5, 

20,  21. 
Nitschmnnn,  David,  Father,  21. 
Nitschmann,  David,  the  .Syndic,  16. 
Nitschm.inn,  John,  sr.,  I. 
Nitschm.inn,  John,  jr.,  1 1 
Nordensjold,  173. 
.'formal   .Schools,   I17,   125,  i-.->.  131     139, 

140,  143.  145.   I47-   148.  154,   »59.  •f'^. 

163,  174,  180,  182,  207,  213,  214. 
Northumb.rland  Inlet,  114. 
Numuagire,  198. 
Nxitschane,  183. 
Nyasa,  194-199,  201. 


» »lH.ahism,  1 18,  1 19. 

Ohneberg   36 

Okak,  45-47.  60,  86,  100,  loi,  113,  137. 

"Oliver,"''  The,  lOI. 

Oly,  Carmel,  7. 

Onondaga,  26   50. 

Oochi;elogy,  95,  97. 

f)ppelt,  Nicholas,  128. 

Oppclt,  .Sebastian,  79. 

Oqihaiiages,  137,  170. 

Oxley,  William,  43. 


Fachgatgoch,  25,  49. 

I'ackanghill,  77. 

Packanke,  51,  52. 

Padel.  Otto,  169,  207. 

Fagell,  Edward,  135,  151-153,  170,  184. 

Faksaut,  113 

Palliser,  Sir  Hugh,  43. 

Palmetto  I'oint,  64. 

Papuans,  The,  132. 


232 


INDEX. 


Papunhauk,  31,  49,  51. 

Paramaribo,  40,  66,  6;,  68,  92,  107,  108, 

122,  162,  i8i,  182. 
Paravicini,  17. 
Parker,  Captain,  114. 
Passe vant,  RuJolph,  122. 
Patna,  69. 

Paul  (St  Thomas),  8. 
Paulu,  207^ 
Paxnous,  30. 
Pearl  Key  Lagoon,  131. 
Pella,  164. 

Pemaholend,  Jacob,  77. 
Penn,  John,  52. 
Pennsylvania,  19-31,  48-53. 
Pensions,  217,  223. 
Pepper,  Nathanael,  149,  150. 
Perry,  Captain,  1 14. 
Persia,  17,  32. 
Perth  Amboy,  49. 
Peterleitner,  Michael,  109. 
Peters.  Daniel,  44. 
Petersen,  Karslen,  81. 
Petquotting,  The,  56,  79. 
Peyster,  Major  de,  54.  55. 
Pfeiffer,  Ezekiel,  128. 
Pfeiffer,  Henry  Gottlieb,  104,   105,  119, 

129-131. 
Philadelphia,  48,  49. 
Philip,  Hottentot,  93. 
Piesch,  (ieorge,  14. 
Pilder,  George,  33. 
Pilgerhut,  40,  66. 
Pilgeriuh  on  the  Cuyahaga,  56. 
Pilgrim,  Alexander,  160,  180. 
Pless,  von,  10. 
Pletz,  Paulina,  185. 
Pliitschau,  15. 
Pontiac's  Conspiracy,  48. 
Poo,  152,  207. 
Popp,  Martin  William,  99. 
Port  Elizabeth,  206. 
Port  of  Spain,  200. 
Posaunenberg,  8,  9. 
Post,  Frederick,  26,  31,  52. 
Potatik,  25. 
Potrero,  200. 
Powell,  Joseph,  26. 
Presbyterian    Church  in  Australia,  The, 

150,  185,  200. 
Prince,  Isaac,  121,  140. 
Princess  Royal  Islands,  The,  115. 
Prochnow,  135. 
Proctor,  General,  80. 
Protten,  Christian  Jacob,  16,  17. 
Provincial  Conferences,   179,  217. 
Pulkrabek,  John  Paul,  179. 
Purysburg,  19. 
Putnam,  General,  76. 
Pyrlaeus,  25. 


Quamw^atla,  160,  161,  177. 

Queensland,  185,  200. 

Ralfs,  40. 

Ramas,  The,  130. 

Ramah,  Labrador,  155,  156,  204. 

Rama,  Moskito,  131,  141,  142,  161. 

Kamahyuk,   150,  170. 

"Ramona  Mission,"  The,  200. 

Ramsch,  John  Gottlieb,  89. 

Rasmus,  Jens,  10. 

Ranzau,  70. 

Rauch,  Christian  Henry,  23-25,  38. 

Rechler,  Theodore,  152. 

Rcdslob,  Frederick  Adolphus,  1S4. 

Regnier,  Dr.  Frederick,  40. 

Reichel,  64 

Keichel,  Ernest,  136. 

Reichel,  Eugene,  181. 

Reichel,  John  Frederick,  69,  70. 

Reichel,  Levin  Theodore,  136,  158. 

Reinke,  Amadeus  A.,  129,  143. 

Reinke,  Edvvin  E.,  159,  179. 

Reitapura,  141. 

Reliance,  180,  181. 

Renkewitz,  119. 

Revivals,  53,  86,  96,  98,  106,   ill,   112, 

137,  140,  164,  175,  176. 
Rhenius,  Captain,  16. 
Richard,  Marc,  200. 
Richard,  Theophil,  197,  198,  201. 
Richter,  Abraham  Ehrenfried,  17. 
Kichter,  Alvin,  169. 
Richter,  Christian  Frederick,  106. 
Ricksecker,  Peter,  106,  121. 
Rights,  T.  M.,  176. 
Rigolette.  114,  204. 
Rinderknecht,   175. 
Rittmansberger,  Andrew,  64. 
Robben  Island,  127,  149 
Romig,  Augustus  B.,  179. 
Romig,  Benjamin,  179. 
Romiij,  Herman,  204. 
Rose,  Christian  Lewis,  75. 
Ross,  John,  97. 
Roth,  John,  48,  50,  53. 
Rothe,  70. 

Rudolph,  Christian  David,  84. 
Ruede,  Miss,  97. 
Riiffer,  John,  32. 
Rumswinkel,  van,  15. 
Rungwe,  194-199,  201. 
Rust-en- Vrede,  l8l,  182. 
Rust-en-Werk,  122,  123. 
Rutenganio,  198,  201. 
Ryttel,  Pastor,  202. 

Salaries,  222,  223. 
Salem,  Jamaica,  117,  141. 
Salem,  North  Carolina,  81,  82,  94,  96, 
175- 


INDEX. 


233 


Salem,  Ohio    53  55,  77. 

Salem,  Surinam.  122,  181. 

Saiiioyedes.   The,  17. 

Sandili.  14^1    169. 

Sandusky,  5^,  55,  80. 

Sam!y  Hay,  Nicaragua,  177. 

Sarepta.  134 

Savannali,  19,  20. 

.Scharf.  John  "amuel,  89. 

Scharf,  Sister,  102. 

.Schaukirch   63 

Schebosch.  26. 

Schuchschiquanink,  50. 

Scheh,  207. 

Schill.  Godfrey,  134. 

Schirnicr,  Carl,  QO. 

.•^chlegel,  Frederick,  65. 

SchUswig,   Missioi  ary   I'liion  of  North, 

2-1. 

Schmick,  John  Jacob,  4S,  50. 

Schmidt,  Anthony,  26. 

Sc!.midt,  CJcorgc,  !•;,  16,  70,  71. 

Schmidt,  John   Henry,  93,  lo8. 

Schmidt,  Isaac,  134. 

Schmidt,  Rasmu.";,  123. 

Schmidt.  Kudolph,  207. 

Schnall,  John,  79,  80,  98. 

Schneider,  Daniel,  14,  17. 

Schneider.  George,   100. 

Schneider,  Martin,  81. 

Schneller,  64. 

Schnechert,  J.  H.,  193. 

.Schonl)runn,"52,  53,  55. 

Schonburg-VVaklenberg,  I'rince,  129, 

Schools,  19,  20,  22,  67,  71,  82,  88,  91, 
"5.  97.  105.  113.  "5-  "6.  117,  123, 
'39.  '45,  155-  '<'^,  i^'4,  170  «7i,  176, 

2«3 

Schott,  1 1  ^ 

S  hryver,  Admiral,  15,  17. 

Schubert,  Charles,  .07. 

Schulius,  George,  19. 

Schull/c,  A  ,  193. 

Schumann,  Christian  I.ewt.s,  O9. 

.Schumann,  Theophilus  Solomon,  .'O,  42, 

06. 
.SchwSllier,  John    Martin,  70. 
Schweinitz,  Edmund  de,  189. 
Schweinitz,  Frederick  Christian  von,  81. 
Schweinit/,    Hans    Christian    .Mcxander 

von,  56. 
Schwinn,  iJaniel.  70,  74. 
Scott,  General,  97. 
Secretary  of  Missions  in    .\merica,  The, 

219. 
Secretary  of  .Missions    in    Ix)ndon,    Ihe, 

2 1 9. 
Seidtl.  .Nathanacl,  36,  40. 
Seiler,  Jacob,  1 19. 
Self-support.  I37-I3q,  154,  159,  178  l8o, 

205,  210,  220. 

«7 


Senseman.  (iottiob,  31,  50.  57,  79. 

Senseman,  Joachim,  25. 

Senthea  Creek,  67. 

Serampore.  69. 

Serra,  Abb«"'  de,  82. 

Shamokin,  23,  26. 

Sharon,  Barbados,  89,  102,  106,  12I. 

Sharon  on  the  Saramacca.  40,  66 

Shawnese,  78,  81. 

Shcchem,   127. 

.Shckomeko,  23  26. 

Shikelimy,  26. 

Shiloh,  Cape  Colony,  no,  125.  127,  146, 

148,  170,  If>4. 
"  .Ship  Committee,'"  The,  4}. 
Sieborger,  William,  17s,  205. 
.Siksigak,  86. 
.Slave  Code,  A.,  6. 
Slavery,  Abolition  of,  87,   104-106,    116, 

125.  145,  162. 
Slotta,  Charles  Adolphu^,  157. 
Smith,  Frederick,  l6l.  177. 
Smith,  Kenatus,   .5. 
Smyth,  Callender,  179. 
Snyklip,  164. 

Society  for  the   Furtherance  of  the  Cios- 
pel,  The,  43,  44,  84,  85,  86,  100,  174, 
175,  221 
Society  for  the   Furtherance  of  the  Gos- 
pel, North  Carolina,   The,  94. 
Society  for  the   I'rom<tion   of  Christian 
Knowledge    amongst  the    NegroL-s  of 
Surinam,  The.  107. 
.Society  for  Propagating  the  (iospel,  The, 

5''.  77»  94.  176.  189,  221. 
.Sodnoin  Stol  kyes,  152. 
Sodpa  Gjal/an  (N.ithanael),  170. 
.SoUetigebel,  Governor,  16. 
SSrensen,  John,  59,  60.  100. 
Somerset,  l><>rd,  no. 
Sommelsdyk,  <>S,  92. 
Sondcrmann,  140. 
.Sources  of  Income,  220-222. 
South    Africa,   ICast,   164-169,    1S3,   184, 

207,  214. 
South  Africa,  West.  163,   164,   170,   182- 

l.''4,  206,  214,  218,  220. 
.South  Africa,  Division  of  the  Field,  148. 
South  Carolina,  19 
Span^jenbcrg,  .Augustus  Gottlieb,  3,  7,  14, 

19,  22,  23,  26,  27,36,43. 
Spence,  James,  119. 
Spieseke,  William,  133,  134,  149,  150. 
.Spindler,  I  '6. 

Springplace,  Georgia,  81,  82,  96,     7. 
.St.  Croix    7,  9.  36,  62,  88,  89,  103,  ll6, 

120,  139,  140. 
St.  John,  Island  of,  6,  10,  36,  62,  88,  103, 

116,  139,  140. 
St.    lohn's,    Antigua.    38,    10  ■,   117,  120, 
>59- 


234 


INDEX. 


St.  Kitts,  64,  88,  90,  106,  120,  121,  139. 

St.  Madeleine,  200. 

St.   Thomas,  4-10,  36,  62,  88,  89,   103, 

116,  117,  139,  140,  159 
St.  Thomas,  Town  of,  117,  138, 140,  180. 
Stach,  Anna,  13  and  note. 
Stach,  <  hristian,  10. 
Stach,  Matthew.  4,  10,  12,  13,  35,  58. 
Stach,  Rosina,  13. 
Stahelin,  Frederick,  206. 
Stahlmann,  ;  .eorge,  34. 
Stambe,  108. 

Station  Superintendent,  The,  215. 
Statistics  of  the  Missions,  58,  62,  64,  66, 

100,  103,  106,  107,  108,  111,120,126, 

128,  146,  162,  173,  174,  180,  181,  206, 

207,  20S. 
Steiner,  Abraham,  81,  82. 
Stellenbosch,  73. 
Sternberg,  Martin  Godfrey,  59. 
Stobwasser,  J,ouis,  103. 
Stokwe,  169. 
Stoll,  Rudolph,  67. 
Stompjes,  Wilhelmina,  1 10. 
Stnrmann,  loi. 
Suhl,  Daniel,  147. 
Sumoos,  The,  130. 
Superintendents,  216,  217. 
Surinam,  i^,  38-42,  66-68,  90-92,  107, 

108,  122  125,  143-146,  161-163,  181, 

182,  2o5,  214. 
Synod,  The  (jeneral,  218,  224. 


Tabase.  183,  207. 

Tabor,  Barbados,  I02,  106. 

Tager,  Andrew  F.  C,  133,  134. 

Talequah,  175.  176. 

Tambookies,  The,  iio,  ill,  127. 

Tank,  Otto,  122. 

Tappe,  Frederick,  171,  185. 

Taylor,  David  (Jamaica),  90. 

Taylor,  John  (Barbados),  106. 

Teedyeuscuiig,  31. 

Tellico  Block-house,  81. 

Tettcpachsit,  78. 

Teutsch,  Christian  Louis,  126,  128. 

Teunessen,  Martin,  71-75 

T'Gaika,  108. 

Tha.  ler,  Samuel  L.,  179. 

Theological  Seminaries,    159,  179,  183, 

214 
Thomas,  CJovernor  of  Pa.,  26. 
Thornton,  John,  44. 
Tibetan  Mission,  The,  135,  151-153. 
Tietze,  John  Christian,  no. 
Tinana,  168. 

Titles  to  Property,  180,  223. 
Tobago,  <  5,  90,  106,  120,  12 J,  139. 
Torgersen,  Hans,  190. 
Tornea,  14. 


Tortola,  9. 

Trade,  27,  38,  44,  65,  156-15S,  174,  222. 

Training-schools   (see  Normal  Schools). 

Tranquebar,  15,  34,  68,  69. 

Treasurer   of   the    Missions,    The,    219, 

223. 
Trinidad,  200. 
Tschoop  (see  Wasamapa). 
Tso-Tso,  152. 
Tuglavina,  46,  47. 
Turner,  William,  60. 
Tuscarawas,  The  Massacre  in  the  valley 

of  the,  53-55. 
Tuscarawas  Valley,  The,  52-55,  56,  76, 

77,  94,  95- 
Twystwyk,  126. 


Ugavigamint,  204. 
Uitenhagen,  109. 
Umanak,  136. 
Ungava,  86,  136. 
Urambo,  178. 
Utengule,  197,  198,  201. 


Van  Alphen,  14. 

Van  Calker,  Ernest,  207. 

Van  Calker,  Theophilus,  122,  143,  161, 

181. 
Van  den  Bempen,  15. 
Van  der  Graft"  Governor,  70. 
Van  Scholten,  Governor,  115. 
Van  Vleck,  Jacob,  56. 
Verbeek,  John  Renatus,  88. 
Visits  paid  to  the  Mission  fields  by  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Board  : 

Spangenberg  to  the  West  Indies,  8. 

Zmzendorf  to  the  West  Indies,  8-9. 

Nathanael  Seidel  to  the  West  Indies, 
36. 

Nathanael  Seidel  to  Surinam,  40. 

Sternberg  to  Greenland,  59. 

Layritz  to  Labrador,  45. 

Loretz  to  the  West  Indies,  62. 

Reichel,  John  Frederick,  to  the  East 
Indies,  88. 

Liebisch  to  Surinam,  92. 

Verbeek  to  the  West  Indies,  88-89. 

Stobwasser  to  Jam.iica,  103. 

La  Trobe,  Christian  Ignatius,  to  Cape 
Colony,  108. 

Breutel  to  the  West  Indies,  n6. 

Hermann  and  Mallalieu  to  the  West 
Indies,  119. 

WuUschlaegel   to  the  Moskito  Coast, 

131- 
Reichel,  Ernest,  to  Greenland,  136. 
Reichel,  Levin  Theodore,  to  Labrador, 

136. 
Linder,  to  Labrador,  136. 


INDKX. 


335 


Cunow    and     Hadliam    to    the    West 

Indies,  137.   I.?S. 
Westerby  to  the  Moskito  Coast,  141. 
Reichel,  Levin  Theodore,  to  Labrador, 

158. 
Keic.iel,  huj^ene,  and  Van  (.alker,  to 

Surinam,  I<Sl. 
Kiihn  to  South  Africa,  182,  183. 
La  Trobe,  Benjamin,  to  Labrador,  174. 
Huchncr  to  South  Africa,  20"]. 
\'ogler,  Jesse    175. 
Voigt,  John  Henry,  123. 
Volker,  Adam,  34. 
Voss,  Herman,  123. 
Wabash,  The  ^see  Woapikaraikunk). 
Wagner,  Samuel,  68. 
Walder,  Henry,  151 
Walder.  Mrs.,  84. 
Wallachia.  32,  34. 
\Vangonicn,  51. 
Wanika,  181. 

Warl,  James  Gibson,  200,  201. 
Ward,  Henry,  175. 
\\ar<l,  Thomas,  9<\ 
Wardens,  J 17. 
Warmow,  Matthew,  115. 
Warner,  Samuvl,  179. 
Warrows,  'Ihe,  39 
Wasamapa   ^5,  26. 
Washington,  Cleorge,  57. 
Waterloo,  Surinam,  1 43,  181. 
Watson,  Samuel,  6  \. 
Wattee,  thristian   David,  97. 
Weber,  Kmest,  19.^,  204. 
Weber,  (ieor;,;e,  8,  9. 
Wechquadnach,  25. 
Wechquetank,  31,  48,  49. 
Weinland,  Williahi,  189- 191.  200. 
Wei  pa,   201. 
Weiss,  Henry,  179. 
Weisser,  Conrad,  22,  23,  25,  26. 
Weit/,  SamueL  155. 
Weit/,  Theodore,  104. 
Wesley,  Charles,  lo. 
Wesley,  John.  I9. 
West  Indian  Missions,  The  status  of  the, 

217-J18,  220. 
West   Indies,  The,  2-10,  36-38,  58,  62- 
66,  S7-W,  I0J-I07,  115-122.  137-141, 
I58.i(xj,  178-180,  204,  205,  2^. 
West  Indies,   Division  of  the  Missions  in 
the,  17.S. 


West  Indies,  Kastern  Province,  220. 
Westerby,    tJeorge   Wall,   117,  120,  141, 

.»59- 
Westlieid,  Kansas,  175,  176. 
Wetzeiius,  18. 
White  Kiver,  The,  77. 
Whiteticld,  (Jeorge,  20,  21. 
''Whitefield  House,"  The,  2(i,  154. 
Wied,  John,  92. 
Wilde,  Frank  V ,  205. 
Willem,  16,  70. 
Williamson,  Colonel,  55. 
Winiger,  ^3. 
Witicwater.   147. 
Witte/and,  126. 
Wt)a[)ikaniikunk,  77-79. 
Wohlfarth,  Jacob,  82. 
WoKT,  Frank,  191,  193. 
Women's    National    Indian   Association, 

The,  joo. 
Wood,  John,  64. 
Woodmount,  170. 
Woolwas,   The,  I30. 
Woosley,  David,  200. 
Worcester,  Samuel  Austin,  96. 
Worsteling  lacobs.  122. 
Wiinsche   tiotllieb,  123. 
Wullschlaegel,     Henry    Rudolph,     119. 

122.  131.  14.. 
Wyalusing.  31,  49-52- 
Wynstrauch,  40. 
NVyoming  Valley,  The,  23,  26. 
N'orke's  I'eniasiila,  151. 


Zachorl,  163. 

Zeelandia,  107. 

Zeisberger,   David,  19,  26,  31,  48-57,  77, 

So. 
Zeist,  I  \,  (>S,  i\\,  162. 
Zcist,  .Missionary  Society  of,  221. 
Zibi,  166  16S. 
/iegenbalg.  15. 
Zinrendorf.   Nicholas  Ixjuis  von,    1  4,  A, 

9,   14    15,    i(),  17,  21,    22,  23,  32,34, 

o.  .^7.  3^  «j5.  209 
Zip|>el,  102. 

Zoar,  l.abrador,   136,  174,  175,  204. 
Zoetclmelksvallei,  15 
Zom,  Jacob,  117,  iio. 
/.welibanzi   John.  128,  |S^ 


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